Argentina - Eighteenth Periodic Reports of States Parties due in 2004 - Addendum to Reports submitted by States Parties under Article 9 of the Convention [2004] UNCERDSPR 3; CERD/C/476/Add.2 (30 March 2004)

* This document contains the sixteenth and seventeenth periodic
reports, due on 4 January 2000, 2002 and 2004 respectively, submitted
in
one document. For the fifteenth periodic report of Argentina and the summary
records of the meetings at which the Committee considered
that report, see
documents CERD/C/338/Add.9 and CERD/C/SR/1439, 1440, 1457 and 1458.

The information submitted by Argentina in accordance with the consolidated
guidelines for the initial part of the reports of States
Parties is contained in
the basic document (HRI/CORE/1/Add.74).

** In accordance with the information transmitted to States Parties regarding
the processing of their reports, this report was sent
directly to the United
Nations translation service without prior official editorial revision.

GE.04-40920 (EXT)

CONSOLIDATED REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARGENTINA

UNDER ARTICLE 9 OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON THE ELIMINATION OF
ALL FORMS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

Note: The information and statistics given in the present
report are drawn from the following sources: the 1991 National Population
Census;
the provisional results of the 2001 National Population Census (general
estimates); the United Nations Human Development Report
for 1999, 2001 and
2002; the World Development Report 2000/2001; the Argentine Report on Human
Development 1998; and other official
publications in some specific
cases.

Any further statistical information that becomes available once all the
data from the 2001 national population census are processed
and that may be
relevant for the Committee will be provided on the occasion of the oral
presentation of this report.

The information included in the first part of this report represents an
updating of that provided in the first part of the core document
submitted by
Argentina (HRI/CORE/1/Add.74).

I. INFORMATION ON ARGENTINA

1. The most recent national census took place in November 2001 and showed a
total population in Argentina of 36.2 million inhabitants.
United Nations
projections indicate that the country will have a population of close to 43.5
million inhabitants by the year 2015.
The present annual rate of population
growth is 1.1 per cent (less than for the period 1975-1999, when it was 1.4 per
cent).

2. According to provisional estimates from the 2001 census, at present being
computerized, the proportion of the national population
of the female sex is
51.22 per cent, 2.44 per cent higher than that of males which is 48.78 per cent.
The proportion of those under
15 years of age amounted by the 1990s to 27.9 per
cent and that of those over 65 years to 9.7 per cent. The Argentine
population’s
life expectancy is 77 years for women and 69.9 years for
men.

3. Data for 1999 show the proportion of the population living in urban areas
(of 2,000 or more inhabitants) to be 89.6 per cent, a
figure which is predicted
to rise to 92.6 per cent by 2015. Argentina is still the third most urbanized
country of Latin America,
behind Venezuela and Uruguay. This process of
urbanization is marked by a high concentration of the population in the city of
Buenos
Aires and more particularly in the suburbs of the capital.

4. The national language of the Republic of Argentina is Spanish. In
addition, various indigenous communities present in the country
speak other
tongues. The national Constitution, in article 75, paragraph 17,
recognises the earlier ethnic and cultural presence of indigenous peoples in
Argentina and lays down
an obligation to guarantee respect for their identity
and the right to a bilingual and intercultural education.

5. Freedom of worship is expressly provided for in the national Constitution
(art. 14). However, that same document, in article 2 establishes that
the national government "supports" the Roman Catholic and
apostolic form of
worship. This provision is purely economic and does not imply any form of
discrimination, as will be made clear
in our analysis of article 5 of the
Convention.

6. The gross infant mortality rate for children under one year was 19 per
thousand in 1999, a clear improvement on that for 1970 (59
per thousand).
However, the serious economic crisis the country has been suffering since 1999
suggests that that percentage may
have worsened, although to date we have no
precise information on the subject.

7. According to the provisional 2001 census figures, there are 10,106,300
households in Argentina, a household being understood as
a person or group of
persons, whether members of the same family or not, who live under one roof and
share food costs. Ninety-nine
per cent of the population lives in these
circumstances. The remaining 1 per cent resides in collective institutions, or
premises
made to house people who live together under a regime other than that
of a family and governed by rules of an administrative, military
or religious
nature or for reasons of health, imprisonment or work etc. The 1991 census
showed that the percentage of women heads
of household in the country as a whole
exceeded 22 per cent, rising to more than 32 per cent in the federal capital and
the main
cities of Argentina. According to that census some 13.3 per cent of
the total were single-person households, more than half of which
were women
living alone. The number of women heads of household and women living alone is
estimated to have increased over the last
decade, but at present we are waiting
for information on this to be supplied by the 2001 census.

8. In 1999, the literacy rate for adults (over 15 years) was calculated at
96.7 per cent and the rate of school enrolment at 0.92
per cent. However, in
the least developed regions the rate of illiteracy may be 10 per cent.

9. In 1991, of the total population 15 years or over, 22.9 per cent had not
completed primary school. While 12.2 per cent of the
population had completed
secondary school, 18.9 per cent had graduated to secondary school, but not
completed it. Approximately
13.7 per cent had moved on to higher university
education, though only 6.3 per cent had completed it.

II. GENERAL POLITICAL STRUCTURE

Republican form of government

10. Politically speaking, the Republic of Argentina has a representative,
federal, republican form of government, as laid down in
its Constitution adopted
in Santa Fe on 1 May 1853 by the General Constituent Congress of the Argentine
Confederation. The Constitution was amended in 1860, on the incorporation into
the Argentine Confederation of the previously separate province of Buenos Aires.
In
1949, a new constitution was adopted that laid great emphasis on social
aspects and on the nation’s claim to the wealth of
the country. However,
the military government that emerged from the 1955 coup brought back the earlier
Constitution. On 22 August 1994, the National Constituent Convention adopted
amendments to the Constitution that entered into force on 24 August 1994. The
changes concern the essential, operative part of the Constitution.

11. The system of government is presidential, with power divided among the
executive, the legislature and the judiciary. The nation
is organized as a
federation of 23 provinces and the city of Buenos Aires. The provinces are:
Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Corrientes,
Córdoba, Chaco, Chubut, Entre
Ríos, Formosa, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Misiones,
Neuquén, Río
Negro, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Cruz, Santa
Fe, Santiago del Estero, Tucumán and Tierra del Fuego.

12. Each province has its own constitution in which is set forth its
administration of justice, its municipal autonomy and the scope
and content of
its institutions, policies, administration, economy and finances. The provinces
elect their authorities, namely a
governor, legislators, a judiciary and other
officials. They enact formal legislation in their local institutions and are
empowered
to conclude international agreements, so long as they are not
incompatible with national foreign policy and do not infringe the powers
invested in the Federal Government or harm the nation’s reputation.
Likewise, they can, with the knowledge of the Federal
Congress, conclude partial
treaties to further the administration of justice, economic interests or works
of public utility.

13. The provinces cannot conclude partial treaties of a political nature.
They may not adopt laws on foreign or domestic trade or
navigation, set up
provincial customs posts, mint money, open banks to issue banknotes without
Federal Government authorization,
adopt civil, commercial, criminal or mining
codes apart from the national ones, pass laws on citizenship or naturalization,
on bankruptcy
or on the forging of currency or State documents, establish duties
on tonnage, fit out warships or appoint or receive foreign agents.

Legislature

14. Under the Constitution at present in force, the legislature is made up of
a bicameral congress: the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate (art. 44).
The
former is composed of representatives elected by a simple majority of votes
of the people of the provinces and the federal capital.
For this purpose, the
provinces and the capital are considered as the electoral districts of a single
State. The number of representatives
is one per 33,000 inhabitants or fraction
thereof not less that 16,500. Once each census has been held, the Congress
decides on
the number of representatives in the light of the census and can
increase, but not decrease, the number of inhabitants represented
by each deputy
(art. 45). Under the Constitution as amended in 1994, the city of Buenos
Aires is autonomous and retains the right to designate its representatives even
if the federal
capital is moved. The deputies serve a four-year term and may be
re-elected, but every two years half the Chamber of Deputies is
renewed
(art. 50).

15. The Constitution in force until 24 August 1994 provided that the Senate
should be composed of two senators from each province elected by majority
vote
of the provincial legislature and two from the federal capital designated by the
electoral college. Since the revision, the
membership is three senators from
each province and three from the city of Buenos Aires, elected directly and
jointly. Two seats
are reserved for the political party that wins the most
votes and the rest are for the party with the next highest number. Each
senator
has one vote (art. 54).

16. The 1994 revision provides that senators serve a six-year term and can be
re-elected indefinitely. A third of the Senate membership
is renewed every two
years (art. 56). Previously the term of office was nine years renewable
every three years.

17. The drafting and approval of laws is the work of the Legislature, in
accordance with the modalities set forth in the Constitution. The National
Congress also has, among other powers, that of declaring a state of siege in one
or more parts of the nation in the
case of internal disturbance. If the
Executive has made such a declaration during a recess of Congress, the latter
may subsequently
either ratify or suspend it.

18. The 1994 constitutional revision created within the Legislature the
Office of the Auditor-General of the Nation and the Ombudsman.
The former is an
operationally autonomous body providing technical assistance to the Congress;
its purpose is to exercise external
supervision of the national public sector
with regard to national resources, the economy, finance and operational matters
(art. 85).
The Office of the Ombudsman is an independent body within the
framework of the Congress with full operational autonomy for the defence
and
protection of human rights and other rights, guarantees and interests
safeguarded by the Constitution and the laws from decisions, acts or omissions
of the Administration (art. 86).

Executive

19. The National Executive is an office held by a citizen with the title of
"President of the Argentine Nation" (art. 87). The 1994
revision of the
Constitution did away with the requirement that the incumbent "belong to the
Roman Catholic and Apostolic communion", contained in the 1853 Constitution.

20. Under the new Constitution, the President and Vice-President serve a
four-year term and may be re-elected or succeed each other for a single
consecutive term.
If they have been re-elected or if one has succeeded the
other, they cannot be elected to either office before the lapse of a further
term (art. 90). A transition clause provides that, for the purposes of the
article under consideration, the term of the President
in office at the
time the revision was adopted should be considered as the first term.. Before
the revision, the President’s
term of office was six years and re-election
was only possible after a further term had elapsed. In addition, as a result of
the
revision, the President of the Nation ceases to hold power the day his
four-year term expires and no possible interruption of his
term can be adduced
to permit him to complete it later (art. 91).

21. If a president is ill, absent from the capital, dies, resigns or is
removed from office, executive power devolves on the Vice-President
of the
Nation. If both the President and Vice-President have been removed, have died,
have resigned or are incapacitated, the Congress
determines which public
official shall hold the presidency until the cause of the incapacity no longer
exists or until a new president
has been elected.

22. The procedure for the election of the President and Vice-President by an
electoral college (indirect election) provided in the
1853 Constitution has been
changed. The new text provides that both shall be elected directly by the
people, in two rounds of voting, with the national
territory considered as a
single district (art. 94). The election takes place during the two months
prior to the conclusion of the
current President's term of office
(art. 95). If required, a second round of voting on the two slates of
candidates having obtained
the most votes is held within 30 days of the first
(art. 96). There is no second round if the winning slate in the first
round has
garnered more than 45 per cent of valid affirmative votes
(art. 97) or when it has obtained at least 40 per cent of such votes and
there are more than ten percentage points between its total and that of the
runner-up (art. 98).

23. The revision set up the post of Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers, who
reports to the Congress. The Chief of Cabinet is responsible
for the general
administration of the country in accordance with the decisions and regulations
adopted for that purpose and those
that the President delegates to him, with the
consent of the ministerial secretary of the department concerned by any given
decree
or regulation. The Chief of Cabinet also co-ordinates, prepares and
convenes the meetings of the Cabinet of Ministers and chairs
them in the absence
of the President. He has to appear before the Congress at least once a month,
alternating between the two Chambers,
to report on government progress, in
addition to possibly being summoned before them specially or being called for
questioning by
vote of an absolute majority of all the members of either
Chamber. Once the regular sessions of the Congress have begun, the Chief
of
Cabinet, together with the other ministers, presents a detailed report on the
state of the nation in the areas covered by the
different government
departments. He also produces the oral or written reports and explanations that
either Chamber may request
from the Executive and so may attend sessions of the
Congress and participate in its debates without the right to vote. He
countersigns
decrees that provide for the exercise of powers delegated by the
Congress, under the supervision of the Bicameral Standing Commission.
Together
with the other ministers he also countersigns emergency decrees and those that
partially enact laws, submitting them personally
after their adoption to the
Standing Commission (arts. 100 and 101).

Judiciary

24. The judicial power of the nation is exercised by the Supreme Court of
Justice and by the other lower courts established by the
Congress in the
national territory (art. 108). In no case can the President exercise
judicial functions, assume jurisdiction over
pending cases or reopen one that
has been concluded (art. 109).

25. Until the revision of the Constitution, judges were appointed by the
Executive with the agreement of the Senate. From 1994 on they have been
appointed from a short list
prescribed by the Council of the Magistrature
(art. 114). There is periodic rotation in the Council of the Magistrature
to ensure
balanced representation of elected political bodies, judges from all
the courts and lawyers on the federal register, as well as of
other persons in
the academic or scientific fields, in such numbers and by such means as the law
establishing the Council allows.

26. The judges of the Supreme Court and of the lower courts of the nation
remain in their positions so long as they conduct themselves
appropriately
(art. 110). Their removal may be decided on by an impeachment jury made up
of legislators, magistrates and registered
lawyers (art. 115), for reasons
of incompetence, professional misconduct or common crimes (art. 53).

27. The Supreme Court and the lower courts try and decide all cases
concerning points governed by the Constitution, by the laws of the nation or by
treaties with foreign nations. The Supreme Court exercises its jurisdiction on
appeal according
to the rules and exceptions laid down by the Congress.

28. Without prejudice to the foregoing, the Supreme Court of Justice has
primary and exclusive competence in cases concerning ambassadors,
government
procurators and foreign consuls. The same goes for cases concerning the
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction; cases to
which the Nation is a party;
cases between two or more provinces; between a province and the residents of
another; between residents
of different provinces and between a province or its
residents and a foreign State or citizen.

Public Prosecutor’s Office

29. The 1994 revision set up the Public Prosecutor’s Office as a
separate, independent body with operational autonomy and financial
autarchy,
whose function is to promote justice and to defend the law and the general
interests of society, in co-ordination with
the other authorities of the
Republic (art. 120). The Public Prosecutor's Office is composed of the
national public prosecutor,
the national defence counsel and the other members
provided for by the law. Its members enjoy immunity of office and their
salaries
cannot be attached.

III. LEGAL FRAMEWORK IN WHICH HUMAN RIGHTS
ARE PROTECTED

30. The law in force in the Republic of Argentina is made up of legal
provisions of differing status and application, all corresponding
to the
guidelines laid down in this regard by the Constitution.

31. The authority to conclude treaties belongs to the national Executive
(art. 99, para. 11). However, between the signing of a treaty
and the
expression of consent to be bound by it, the national Constitution has provided
for a substantive procedure incumbent on the legislature for the "approval or
rejection of treaties concluded with other
nations and international
organizations" (art. 75, para. 22) which relates to the principle of
the separation of powers and its corollary
of mutual supervision. It guarantees
participation by the representatives of the people of the nation and the
representatives of
the provinces in decisions on matters of obligation for the
country.

32. The Constitution, in the unchanged clause of article 31, provides
that treaties are the supreme law of the nation. The Supreme Court, as the
interpreter
of the provisions of the national Constitution, had resolved that
treaties and national laws had equal status. This jurisprudence, reflected in
the ruling in Martín & Co. v. General PortsAdministration issued in 1963, was undisputed until 1992.

33. On 7 July 1992, the Argentine Supreme Court, expressing its opinion in
the case of Ekmekdjian v. Sofovich, changed position and stated that "in
our country international treaties take precedence over the national laws".
This ruling occurred
before the constitutional revision of 1994. On that
occasion, in its decision on an amparo appeal concerning the "right of
reply" claimed by the plaintiff, who invoked the American Convention on Human
Rights, the Supreme
Court based its ruling on the provisions of the Vienna
Convention on the Law of Treaties (ratified by our country on 5 December 1972
and rendered applicable to the national territory by Act No. 19,865). What
it said was: "The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties is a
constitutionally valid international treaty, which, in its article 27,
provides
that ‘A party cannot invoke the provisions of its domestic law as
justification for non-compliance with a treaty.’ The
necessary
application of this article requires the organs of the State of Argentina
to give precedence to treaties wherever there
is a conflict with a domestic
law."

34. After the August 1994 revision of the national Constitution, the new text
of article 75, paragraph 22 provided that: "Treaties and
concordats have a higher status than laws. The American Declaration on the
Rights and Duties of Man; the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights; the
American Convention on Human Rights; the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural
Rights; the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights and its Optional Protocol; the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; the
Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women; the Convention
Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment;
and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, within the terms of their
application, have
constitutional status, do not abrogate any article of the
first part of this Constitution and should be understood as complementary to the
rights and guarantees recognised by it. They can only be denounced, if
necessary,
by the national Executive, with the prior consent of two-thirds of
all the members of each Chamber. Other human rights treaties
and conventions,
once adopted by the Congress, require the assenting vote of two-thirds of all
the members of each Chamber to acquire
constitutional rank."

35. Later, by Act No. 24,820 of 30 April 1997, the national Congress
granted constitutional rank to the Inter-American Convention
on Forced
Disappearance of Persons.

36. Moreover, by Decree No. 579/2003 of August 2003, the President of
the Nation declared its accession to the Convention on the Non-Applicability
of
Statutory Limitations to War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, which had been
adopted by the Congress in Act No. 24,584 of 1995.
In the preamble to the
Decree there is reference to the fact that "the Argentine Republic has embarked
on a new stage in which respect
for essential human rights, for democratic
institutions and for social justice have become the fundamental pillars of
government
action". It also says that "it is the prime intention of the
national Executive to contribute to creating a nation whose foundation
is full
respect for human rights" and that "our country has given constitutional status
to various international documents whose
main aim is to protect the dignity and
value of the human person".

On 20 August 2003 the Congress adopted Act No. 25,778, promulgated on 2
September of that year, giving constitutional status to the
above-mentioned
Convention, in accordance with the procedure provided in article 75,
para. 22 of the Constitution.

37. From the foregoing one may see that the conventions concerned, among
which is that on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination,
are on
an equal footing with the provisions of the Constitution and take precedence
over national and provincial legislation. Various decisions of the Supreme
Court confirm that pre-eminence.
Likewise, in accordance with the provisions of
articles 116 and 117 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has judged that
international custom and the general principles of law that are the sources of
international law
according to article 38 of the Statute of the
International Court of Justice are an integral part of our legal order. For
that reason,
the Supreme Court has in many cases accorded merit to jus
gentium and to "the general principles of international law" in applying
various provisions of international law.

IV. COMPETENT AUTHORITIES FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN
RIGHTS

Judicial authorities

38. In the Argentine judicial regime, the power to administer justice is held
concurrently by the nation and the provinces. Articles
5 and 123 of the
Constitution provide that each province will draft its own constitution in
accordance with the principles, declarations and guarantees of the
supreme law
"that ensures its administration of justice". The provinces designate their own
officials and judges without intervention
by the Federal Government
(art. 122). At the same time, article 31 of the Constitution provides
that the Constitution itself, the laws adopted by the Congress deriving from it
and treaties with foreign Powers are the supreme law of the land, and the
authorities in each province are bound to comply with that, notwithstanding any
conflicting provision that may be contained in the
provincial laws or
constitutions.

39. The regular administration of justice is incumbent on the judiciary of
each province, within the provincial territory, in application
of the codes
referred to in article 75, paragraph 12, namely the Civil, Commercial,
Criminal, Mining, Labour and Social Security
Codes, according to whichever
jurisdiction covers the matters or persons concerned.

40. With regard to national justice, article 116 of the Constitution
provides that it is for the Supreme Court and the lower courts of the nation to
try and to decide all cases concerning points governed
by the Constitution and
the national laws, excepting what falls within provincial jurisdiction. In the
latter cases, pursuant to article 117, the Supreme
Court exercises its
jurisdiction on appeal.

Administrative authorities

41. At the national level, as part of the Executive, two human rights bodies
have been created, one originally within the Ministry
of the Interior but now in
the Ministry of Justice, Security and Human Rights, and the other within the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
International Trade and Worship. This basic
arrangement has recently received substantive support that has enhanced and
diversified
the opportunities for appropriately safeguarding the full
effectiveness of human rights in the Republic of Argentina.

National Institute to Combat Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism
(INADI)

42. On 5 July 1995, the Congress adopted Act No. 24,515, promulgated on
28 July of the same year, setting up the National Institute
to Combat
Discrimination; Xenophobia and Racism (INADI) as a decentralized body within the
purview (now modified) of the Ministry
of the Interior for the purpose of
elaborating national policies and concrete measures to combat discrimination,
xenophobia and racism
and of promoting and carrying out activities to that end.
In view of the importance of its work for this report, we shall deal with
it at
length in the second part.

Human Rights Secretariat of the Ministry of Justice, Security and Human
Rights

43. This body’s basic purpose is to promote and protect human rights
throughout the country. It carries out the following activities:

– Complaints and procedures programme. This consists in hearing
complaints from individuals relative to conflicts that may
be classed as human
rights violations; the Secretariat counsels the complainants and refers the
cases to the relevant national authority.

– Legislation drafting programme. The Secretariat takes part in and
assists the human rights commissions of the Congress.

– Institutional relations programme. Its aim is to foster and maintain
smooth relations with national bodies, public and private,
and foreign
organizations working in the area of human rights.

– Federal Council of Human Rights. Its purpose is to link and
co-ordinate policies for the promotion and preservation of human
rights at the
State and provincial levels; to ensure efficient co-ordination and fluid
communications, so that the work of preparation
may be centralized and that of
implementation decentralized, bearing in mind the real situation in each
province.

– Historical reparation programme. The Human Rights Secretariat has
the task of processing benefits for former detainees of
the Executive, civilians
tried by military tribunal before the restoration of democracy on 10 December
1983 and the successors of
disappeared persons.

– National Commission for the Right to an Identity. The purpose here
is to assist the search for disappeared children and determine
the whereabouts
of kidnapped and disappeared children of unknown identity, as well as of
children born when the mother was illegally
deprived of liberty and also of
other children who do not know their identity, because, for various reasons,
they were separated
from their biological parents.

– National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons (CONADEP). This
government unit is responsible for the conservation and
updating of its
files.

Human Rights Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International
Tradeand Worship

44. The primary responsibility of this government body is to identify,
prepare and propose plans, programmes, projects and objectives
for foreign
policy in the area of human rights, and to be involved in the conduct of foreign
policy in that field vis-à-vis special international bodies,
entities or commissions.

45. It also takes part in the study of ways to adapt legislation to
commitments undertaken in the international human rights field,
in the signing
and conclusion of treaties and in determining the eligibility of refugees.

46. This body has a primary role in the Argentine Republic’s
participation in the sessions of all United Nations human rights
bodies.

Government Procurator for the Prison System

47. Decree No. 1598 of 29 July 1993 set up the post of Government
Procurator for the Prison System, with the rank of Under-Secretary
of State, a
renewable four-year term of office and responsibility nationally and within the
Executive. The basic task of the Government
Procurator is to protect the human
rights of prison inmates covered by the federal prison system, in accordance
with the provisions
on such rights in national law and in the international
conventions on the subject to which Argentina is a State Party. In the
discharge
of his functions this official is not subject to any binding mandate
and may not receive instructions from any authority, but must
act independently
using his judgement to determine the cases he will take up.

48. The Procurator’s mandate entitles him to visit regularly all the
prisons in which national or federal prisoners are held.
He may, ex officio
or in response to a request, investigate any act or omission that may harm
the rights of the inmates and is under obligation, where
necessary, to file
criminal charges. The views or opinions of the Procurator are reflected in
recommendations to the Ministry of
Justice, which monitors and supervises the
national and federal prison system. The Minister of Justice then renders those
recommendations
operative by endorsing the Procurator’s resolutions.

Parliamentary commissions

49. Within the Legislature special bodies have been set up with competence in
the human rights field. In December 1983, the Senate,
whose members are the
representatives of the 23 provinces and the federal capital, set up a Commission
on Human Rights and Guarantees.
The example was copied by the Chamber of
Deputies on 30 September 1992. In both cases, the membership of the commissions
includes
parliamentarians from all the political parties represented in
parliament.

50. The work of these commissions has been enriched by the contributions of
government officers, who are periodically invited to make
reports, and of
national and international experts on the subject. In addition to constituting
a natural forum for debate on those
items that will become the subject of draft
laws, the commissions seek information from the Executive on questions within
its purview.
The provinces have also followed this example and their
legislatures have established human rights bodies.

Ombudsman

51. On 1 December 1993, the Congress adopted Act No. 24,284, which
created the Office of the Ombudsman within the Legislature. The
Ombudsman
exercises his functions without receiving instructions from any government
department. His mandate is to protect the rights
and interests of individuals
and the community from acts or omissions on the part of the national Public
Administration. His work
includes launching investigations ex officio or
on request to clarify acts of the administration likely to harm those rights and
interests, including those of an extended or collective
nature.

52. The Republic of Argentina already had experience of a Human Rights
Procurator in the city of Buenos Aires. The constitutional
revision of 22
August 1994 introduced a new article devoted to the Office of Ombudsman.

Remedies

53. All the inhabitants of the Argentine Republic have a range of recourses
that allow them to resolve cases where a fundamental right
may have been
violated. These recourses are regulated by ordinary legislation and vary
according to their purpose. Nevertheless,
the constitutional revision
introduced a new article 43, which states the following.

54. "Anyone may institute prompt and speedy amparo proceedings,
provided no other more appropriate judicial remedy exists, against any act or
omission by public authorities or private
individuals which actually or
potentially infringes, restricts, jeopardizes or threatens rights and guarantees
recognised by this
Constitution, a treaty or a law in a manifestly arbitrary or
illegal manner. In such instances, the judge may declare unconstitutional the
provision
on which the injurious act or omission is based. This action may be
taken against any form of discrimination and with regard to
the rights that
protect the environment, competition, users and consumers, as well as to
collective rights in general, by the party
concerned, the Ombudsman and
associations that share those goals and are registered in accordance with the
law, which shall determine
the conditions and form of their organization.

This action may be undertaken by any person in order to obtain information
about the content and purpose of data relating to himself
contained in public or
private records or data banks intended for reports, and, if the information is
false or discriminatory, to
demand that it be destroyed, corrected, made
confidential or updated. The confidentiality of journalists’ sources of
information
may not be affected. When the right which has been infringed,
restricted, jeopardized or threatened concerns physical liberty, in
the event of
the illegal worsening of the form or conditions of detention have been or in the
case of the enforced disappearance
of persons, an application for habeas corpus
may be filed by the affected party or by any person acting on his behalf, and
the judge
shall hand down a decision immediately, even if a state of siege is in
force.

Complaints

55. Article 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, in force since September
1992, provides that "any person who considers that they
have been harmed by an
offence prosecutable ex officio or who, without claiming to have been
harmed, has knowledge of such an offence, may file a complaint before the judge,
a government
attorney or the police. If the criminal action is a private one,
only the person entitled to bring charges may file the complaint,
pursuant to
the relevant provisions of the Criminal Code. Subject to the formalities set
forth in book I, title IV, chapter IV,
the person may request to be considered
as a plaintiff.

56. Concerning the obligation incumbent on public officials, the Code of
Criminal Procedure in article 177 states that "the obligation
to denounce
offences prosecutable ex officio is incumbent on: 1) public
officials and government employees who learn of them in the exercise of their
functions; 2) doctors,
midwives, chemists and other persons in any of the
health professions, with regard to offences that come to their knowledge as
they provide their professional services, with the exception of what they learn
under the veil of professional secrecy".

Amparo proceedings

57. Act No. 16,986 governs amparo proceedings against any act or
omission on the part of a public authority which actually or potentially
infringes, restricts, jeopardizes
or threatens, in a manifestly arbitrary or
illegal manner, rights or guarantees explicitly or implicitly recognised in the
Constitution, with the exception of individual liberty protected by habeas
corpus.

58. Cases where amparo is inadmissible are expressly detailed in
article 2 of the aforementioned Act. This occurs when: a) judicial
or administrative
recourses or remedies exist that would permit the protection
of the right or guarantee concerned; b) the contested act is that of
a
judicial body or follows from the express application of Act No. 6,970; c)
the legal action would directly or indirectly compromise
the regular, continuous
and effective provision of a public service or the performance of essential
State activities; d) a ruling
invalidating the act would require further
deliberation or proof or a declaration of unconstitutionality in respect of
laws, decrees
or ordinances; e) the request was not made within 15 working
days of the act’s occurrence or commission.

59. The legal action must be brought before the judge of first instance who
has jurisdiction in the place where the act occurred or
where its impact was or
might be felt. If and when the legal action is admissible, the judge must
request from the relevant authority
a detailed report on the background and
reasons for the contested act, which must be produced by whatever reasonable
deadline he
sets (usually five days). Once the report has been issued or
the deadline for its presentation has passed, and the plaintiff has
no evidence
to produce, a substantiated decision must be pronounced within 48 hours
granting or denying amparo.

60. The final decision declaring the existence or non-existence of an
arbitrary or manifestly illegal infringement, restriction, jeopardizing
of or
threat to a constitutional right or guarantee renders the amparo action
res iudicata, leaving open whatever actions or remedies are available to
the parties aside from amparo. Appeal may be made only against the final
decision, a decision declaring the proceedings inadmissible and decisions that
provide
for measures involving no new action or suspending the effects of the
contested act.

61. Amparo proceedings against an act or omission on the part of an
individual are covered by article 321 of the Code of Civil and Commercial
Procedure in the following terms: "The procedure established in
article 498 [Summary procedure] shall be applicable ... when a complaint
is
brought regarding an act or omission on the part of an individual which actually
or potentially infringes, restricts, jeopardizes
or threatens in an arbitrary or
manifestly illegal manner any right or guarantee explicitly or implicitly
recognised in the national
Constitution, provided that urgent redress of the
injury or the immediate cessation of the effects of the act is necessary, and
the question does
not, by its nature, have to be dealt with by one of the
procedures established in this Code or other laws."

62. The rules for summary procedure apply to these proceedings, with the
following modifications: no counterclaims or special pleas
are admitted;
two day time limits apply in all cases, unless the claim is being contested,
when five days are allowed, or evidence
has to be produced, for which the judge
sets the limit; only the final decision and precautionary injunctions may be
appealed.

63. Article 28 of Act No. 19,549 on administrative procedures, modified
by Act No. 21,686, provides for action for amparo in cases of
administrative delay in the following terms: "Anyone who is a party to
administrative proceedings may file a judicial
application for prompt dispatch
of the affair. Such an order is admissible when the administrative authority
has let a deadline
pass or, if no deadline existed, when more than a reasonable
amount of time has elapsed before the issuance of the ruling or decision,
whether substantive or purely procedural, that the person concerned required.
Once the application has been filed, the judge shall
rule on its admissibility
bearing in mind the circumstances of the case and, if he deems fit, require the
administrative authority
involved, within a time limit that he sets, to produce
a report on the causes of the alleged delay. The judge’s decision is
final. If the order has been challenged or the deadline has passed without the
report being produced, an appropriate decision shall
be made regarding the delay
and an order shall be issued, if required, to the administrative authority
responsible to take the necessary
action within a reasonable time limit to be
established in light of the nature and complexity of the ruling or the
outstanding procedures."

Application for habeas corpus

64. Act No. 23,098 provides that proceedings for habeas corpus are in
order when a public authority is accused of an act or omission
that involves:
1) limitation of freedom of movement or a present threat of such without a
written order from the competent authority;
2) illegal downgrading of the form
and conditions of detention, without prejudice to the powers of the trial judge
if there is one.

65. When a person’s freedom is restricted by virtue of the declaration
of a state of siege, habeas corpus proceedings call for
verification, in this
specific case, of whether: 1) the declaration of a state of siege was
legitimate; 2) there was a connection
between the detention order and the
situation that gave rise to the declaration of the state of siege; 3) the
form and conditions
of the detention, which can in no case be imposed in
establishments where prison sentences are served, were illegally downgraded;
4) there was effective exercise of the right to choose to leave the
national territory.

66. When a person has been deprived of their liberty, once the complaint has
been filed the judge immediately orders the authority
summoned, if there is one,
to bring the detainee before him together with a detailed report of the reasons
for the measure, the manner
and circumstances in which it is being carried out,
if it has been done on a written order from a competent authority, in which case
that order must be produced too, and, if the detainee has been placed at the
disposal of another authority, who that was, for what
reason it was done and
when the transfer took place. When the case is one of a present threat to
deprive a person of their liberty,
the judge orders the authority summoned to
present the report referred to above.

67. When the court or judge of the competent jurisdiction knows and has
satisfactory proof that a person is being held in custody,
detention or
confinement by an official subordinate to them or a lower-ranking
administrative, political or military official and
it is to be feared that he
may be transported outside the territory of their jurisdiction or that
irreparable harm will be done him
before he can be assisted with a writ of
habeas corpus, they may issue one ex officio and order those who are
holding him or any administrative officer, police agent or other employee to
take the person being held or
threatened and bring him before them for an
appropriate decision in accordance with the law.

68. When a person’s freedom is restricted by virtue of the declaration
of a state of siege, habeas corpus proceedings call for
verification, in this
specific case of whether the declaration of a state of siege was legitimate;
whether there was a connection
between the detention order and the situation
that gave rise to the declaration of the state of siege; whether the form and
conditions
of the detention, which can in no case be imposed in establishments
where prison sentences are served, were illegally downgraded;
and whether there
was effective exercise of the right to choose to leave the national
territory.

Extraordinary appeal

69. Article 14 of Act No. 48 governs extraordinary appeal to the
national Supreme Court of Justice. The provision states that this
recourse may
be made against the final judgement in following cases: 1) when during the
proceedings the validity of a treaty, an
act of the Congress or an authority
exercised on behalf of the nation has been called in question and the ruling has
been against
its validity; 2) when the validity of a provincial law,
decree or authority has been questioned on the pretext that it runs counter
to
the national Constitution, to treaties or to laws of the Congress and the
decision has been in favour of the validity of the provincial law or authority;
3) when the interpretation of a clause of the Constitution or a treaty or
act of the Congress or a commission undertaken on behalf of the national
authority has been called in question and
the decision has gone against the
validity of the deed, right, privilege or exemption deriving from that clause
and is a cause of
dispute.

70. The jurisprudence of the Supreme Court has extended extraordinary appeal
to cases of arbitrary judgements, that is, decisions
which in some way –
because they applied laws that were not in force, disregarded evidence, omitted
related questions etc.
– violated the guarantee of a legal defence.

Administrative appeals

71. Act No. 19,549 on administrative procedures governs appeals that may
be made against acts of the administration. They are the
application for
reconsideration before the body that ordered the act that is being appealed, and
the appeal to a higher instance,
which is lodged with the same authority but
must be decided by the Minister in whose department the act was ordered. The
President
rules on appeals to a higher instance made against acts of his
ministers.

Second part

INFORMATION RELATING TO ARTICLES 2 TO 7 OF THE
CONVENTION

ARTICLE 2

V. BACKGROUND

72. From a historical perspective, Argentina’s past is one of
contradictions. On the one hand, slavery was banned early on
in our
institutional history: in 1813, three years after the first acts of
independence – which was formally declared in 1816
– the "libertad
de vientres" or freedom of slaves’ offspring was decreed, and in 1853
slavery was definitively abolished.
(This was due, it must be admitted, to the
underdevelopment of intensive agriculture.) On the other hand, the campaigns to
uproot
the Indian peoples from their lands, and in many cases to annihilate
them, as happened in the military campaigns at the end of the
19th
century, as well as the recruiting of excessively high numbers of Afro-Americans
in the wars of independence, constitute a blot on
the history of our country.
Likewise, once the nation had become a political entity (in the
mid-19th century), immigrants flocked to its territory, mainly from
Europe, in greater numbers than to any other State on the continent, but
their
assimilation was found to be so complex that laws restricting immigration were
passed in contradiction to the broad and generous
spirit of the Argentine
Constitution.

73. Since 1983, the year in which a new stage in our democracy began, an
effort has been made to combat discrimination. Nevertheless,
there are still
government actions to be taken to fight discrimination in all fields. Moreover,
some individual or group manifestations
of discrimination reflect the xenophobic
ethics, psychology, beliefs and ideas found in all societies, regardless of
government action.

74. However, the chief difficulties in consolidating this action derive from
the economic limitations which have seriously affected
the struggle against
discrimination. It is a fact that the entire Public Administration has suffered
serious cutbacks in its government
action. In the case of INADI, the
streamlining was even more radical, with up to 50 per cent cuts in salaries,
staff layoffs and,
in general, a reduction of management expenditure (on inputs,
travel to affected areas, assistance etc.) that brought it to the brink
of
collapse. In April 2002, new authorities were appointed and by the end of that
year INADI had been recognised as an autonomous
body, as will be explained later
on. This new, still ongoing, process suggests positive forward movement that is
still being consolidated.

VI. LEGAL PROVISIONS FOR THE PROTECTION OF FUNDAMENTAL
RIGHTS

AND LEGISLATION TO COMBAT DISCRIMINATION

75. Article 16 of the national Constitution, as adopted in 1853, stipulates
that: "The Argentine Nation admits no prerogatives of birth or blood. In it
there are no special privileges or titles of nobility. All its
inhabitants are
equal before the law and employable on no other criteria than their aptitude.
Equality is the basis for taxation
and for public office." Article 20 of
the same Constitution in its turn provides that "Foreigners in the territory
of the Nation enjoy all the civil rights of citizens". These provisions,
despite their age, coincide with the principles of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and the American
Convention on Human Rights, article 26 of the
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other similar international
documents.

76. The Supreme Court of the Nation has decreed that the rights in force in
the Argentine Republic are provided for the enjoyment
and exercise of all the
inhabitants of the Republic. It expresses itself as follows: "The word
‘inhabitant’ includes both nationals and foreigners and refers to
those persons who reside in the territory of
the Republic with the intention of
staying there, even if they have not constituted a domicile with all the legal
effects thereof." (Rulings 151:211)

77. Furthermore, Argentina has ratified the inter-American documents
protecting fundamental guarantees, namely: the Charter of the
Organization of
American States; the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man
(which has constitutional rank); the
American Convention on Human Rights, known
as the "Pact of San José" (also with constitutional rank); the
Inter-American
Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of
Violence against Women and the Inter-American Convention on the Elimination
of
All Forms of Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities.

78. As mentioned in the first part (paras. 32 and ff), the Supreme Court
has decreed on several occasions that international treaties
and conventions
take precedence over domestic laws and other provisions.

79. Our country has also ratified the founding Charter of the United Nations;
the International Convention on the Suppression and
Punishment of the Crime of
Apartheid; the International Convention against Apartheid in
Sports and, among others, the International Labour Organization’s
Convention No. 111 on discrimination in respect of employment
and
occupation.

80. In the 1994 constitutional revision already referred to other provisions
were also introduced aimed at the protection of social
sectors vulnerable to
discrimination. For example:

a) Recognition of the "earlier ethnic and cultural presence of the indigenous
Argentine peoples ... and of the indigenous communities
as legal entities ...
and of community possession and ownership of the lands they traditionally
occupy" (art. 75, para. 17).

b) Recognition of the pre-existing recourse on of amparo as a
constitutional norm, with special reference to the fact that it should also be
applicable to "any form of discrimination".

c) Inclusion of the principle of the obligation to promote "equality of
opportunity without any discrimination" (art. 75, para. 19).

d) The obligation of the Congress to "legislate and promote measures of
affirmative action to guarantee equality of opportunity and
treatment and of the
full enjoyment of the rights recognised by this Constitution and the
international human rights treaties in force, in particular with respect to
children, women, the elderly and the disabled"
(art. 75,
para. 23).

e) Recognition of action for amparo as a constitutional norm. This
action is broadly protective of rights against acts of the administration and in
1957 was recognised
by the Supreme Court in the Siri case. In 1967, the
dictatorship of J.C. Ongania curtailed the operation of amparo action by
the provisions of the de facto Act No. 16,986. Fortunately, the
wording of the new Constitution cancelled the restrictions imposed by the
defacto law. Action for amparo is provided for in
article 43 of the Constitution, which contains special reference to the
fact that it should be applicable "against any form of discrimination".

81. The constitutional recognition of the legal capacity and rights of the
indigenous peoples put the pre-existing Act No. 23,302
on protection of
indigenous populations and support for their communities in a new context, as
did the promotion of provincial legislation
on the subject. At the same time it
strengthened the action of the National Institute of Indigenous Affairs (INAI),
which at present
reports to the Ministry for Social Development.

VII. OTHER LEGISLATION

82. In addition to those described, there exists a broad and varied range of
relevant legal and administrative provisions. The following
may be
mentioned:

National legislation

Act No. 23,592. Discriminatory acts

Act No. 16,986. Amparo proceedings

Act No. 20,744. Labour contract, arts. 17 and 81

Act No. 22,431. Institution of a system of over-all protection for
disabled persons

Act No. 24,284. Office of the National Ombudsman

Act No. 24,515. Creation of the National Institute to Combat
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism

Act No. 24,382. National Day of Struggle against Discrimination,
Xenophobia and Racism

Decree 258/98. Plan for Equality between Men and Women in the Workplace

83. Although the provisions listed below relate principally to the city of
Buenos Aires, it should be borne in mind that such provisions
are habitually
reproduced in the legislation of other urban centres of the country:

Act No. 474. Plan for real equality of opportunity and treatment for
men and women

Act No. 664. Access to all social services for all persons without
regard to their migrant status

VIII. ANTI-DISCRIMINATION CASE-LAW

85. Several rulings have tended to confirm the principles of
non-discrimination. The following may be mentioned, grouped according
to the
cause of the discrimination:

Discrimination on grounds of nationality

a) The case of NN (amparo). Decided by the Supreme Court of
Mendoza, courtroom I (March 1995). A foreigner nationalized Argentinian
complained that he had
been refused admission into the provincial police force,
as a provincial law required, because he had been born abroad. The case
was
admitted and the law was declared unconstitutional, since it prescribed
something contrary to the Constitution by excluding "naturalized Argentinians
from the possibility of entering the provincial police, which is illogical,
prejudicial and
contrary to the appeal made in the national Constitution
concerning foreigners who decide to take our nationality ... for purposes of
their work, foreigners are placed on an equal footing
with Argentinians by an
express provision of the Constitution".

Discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation

b) The case of NN (amparo), which called for permission to undergo a
sex-change operation. Decided by the Criminal Court of Mar del Plata (June
1997). The
right to a sex change was admitted, since "any prohibition or
restriction aimed at violating personal identity (by restricting a
surgical
operation designed to reveal the true sexuality of the person) would of itself
and in addition mean an illegal and manifest
violation of the principle of
non-discrimination, without objective or reasonable justification".

Discrimination on grounds of gender

c) The case of Elvira Bello v. Argentine Shooting Federation. Decided
by the National Civil Chamber, courtroom D of the City of Buenos Aires (July
1998). The appellant requested that she be
given the title of Shooting Champion
in her special field, after she had won the relevant competition. The
Federation rejected the
demand and only admitted her as winner of the
competition, basing itself on a pre-existing regulation that recognised only
male champions,
a regulation that the competitor must have known of before
entering. The Chamber declared the regulation unconstitutional because
it gave
rise to discrimination "since any distinctions that are made should be for
reasons of differentiation and not with the aim
of persecuting or granting undue
privilege to a person or group".

d) The case of Alicia Susana Barcena v. Province of Buenos Aires ( amparo
appeal), art. 18. Decided by the Supreme Court of the Province of
Buenos Aires. In several cases of unequal labour treatment brought against the
Government of the Province of Buenos Aires, the decision was to apply the
principle of equality and non-discrimination on the basis
not only of national
legal instruments but also of international conventions on the subject. The
argument on the merits states,
inter alia: "It is clear that in the
second half of this century a new legal discipline has come into being, namely,
international human rights
law. This has produced a series of international
instruments and treaties that have served to breathe fresh air into domestic
law,
giving it a framework of guidelines at the universal and regional level and
placing a protective screen around human beings wherever
they may be. This has
become known as the transnational dimension of law and justice. ... Whether it
be the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, the American Declaration or Pact
of San José, or the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
they have elaborated a set of rules designed to eliminate all forms of
discrimination and – so far as possible – to promote
equality of
rights for men and women" (Judge Hitter’s vote).

Discrimination on grounds of criminal record

e) The case of Fabian Horacio Gandolfo v. Government of the City of Buenos
Aires (amparo). Decided by the National Appeals Chamber for Minor Offences
of the Federal Capital, courtroom II (August 2000). The appellant was
appealing
the refusal of the government to grant him a licence to drive taxis on the
grounds that he had a criminal conviction, although
he had already served his
sentence. On the basis that the case was one of discrimination, in so far as
the refusal "fell outside
the limits of the sentence", the court granted the
appeal.

Discrimination on grounds of age

f) The case of Silvia Ruth Abadie v. Government of the City of Buenos
Aires (amparo). Decided by courtroom I of the Minor Offences Court of the
City of Buenos Aires (October 2000). Hearing a specific case, the court
ruled
it unconstitutional to set an age limit for entering the teaching profession in
the City of Buenos Aires. Among the grounds
for its decision the court argued
that the Constitution "expressly establishes equality before the law and does
not admit discrimination that would tend to segregate persons by reasons,
inter alia, of age.

IX. INADI, EXECUTING AGENCY FOR ANTI-DISCRIMINATION
POLICY

86. Various sectors of government and non-governmental organizations have
assumed responsibilities in the fight against discrimination.
Several of them
will be mentioned throughout this report. However, special reference should be
made to the National Institute to
Combat Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism
(INADI), which by its very nature constitutes the executing agency for State
policy
in this field.

87. As a consequence of the legal provisions described in the first part of
the present report, in July 1995 Act No. 24,515 was adopted
creating the
National Institute to Combat Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism (INADI), a
decentralized body under the jurisdiction
of the Ministry of the Interior whose
purpose is to prepare national policies and concrete measures to combat
discrimination, xenophobia
and racism.

88. In 2002, INADI was restructured. In April of that year, on a proposal
from Parliament, a chairman and vice-chairman were appointed.
Then, on 19
December 2002, Act No. 26,572 was adopted restoring INADI to its legal
status as a decentralized body, with the unanimous
backing of both chambers of
parliament.

89. As a result, it ceased to be subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior
and as an autarchic national institute now reports directly
to the President of
the Nation. On 4 June 2002, the Board of Directors of INADI was reconstituted
with the participation of the
Ministries of Foreign Affairs, International Trade
and Worship; Education; Justice, Security and Human Rights; and the Interior.
Three non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are also part of the Board:
the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights (APDH); the Delegation
of
Jewish-Argentine Associations (DAIA); and the Federation of Arab-American
Organizations (FEARAB).

90. As can be seen, one feature of INADI is the active participation of NGOs
in directing its work. In addition to what is stated
in the previous
paragraph , INADI has used the services of an Advisory Council made up
entirely of NGOs representing different vulnerable
groups, namely: the
Indigenous Association of the Argentine Republic (AIRA); B’nai
B’rith International; the Centre
for Legal and Social Studies (CELS);
Centre for Latin American Migration Studies (CEMLA); Argentine Federation
of Communities (FAC);
Federation of Arab-Argentine Organizations (FEDARAB);
the "All in a Team" Foundation; and the Argentine Society for Gay and Lesbian
Integration (SIGLA).

91. In November 2002, the draft of INADI’s first budget, for the year
2003, was submitted to the National Budget Office. The
final sum approved for
2003 was $700,000 (approximately US$235,000). The minimum transition staffing
requirements (second semester)
were ratified in a special session, as was the
draft law on the decentralization of INADI.

92. Pursuant to the law establishing it, INADI’s functions are as
follows:

a) To act as the entity implementing the law against discrimination, ensuring
compliance with it and the achievement of its objectives;

b) To make known the principles on which it operates;

c) To plan and promote education campaigns to teach the value of social and
cultural pluralism and eliminate discriminatory, xenophobic
and racist
attitudes;

d) To compile and keep up to date information on international and foreign
legislation on the subject and to draft comparative reports
on that
legislation;

e) To receive and centralize complaints of discriminatory, xenophobic or
racist conduct and keep a record of them;

f) To compile a register of documents, evidence and proof relevant to the
objectives of the institution;

g) To offer a complete free counselling service for individuals or groups
victims of discrimination, xenophobia or racism;

h) To provide free legal assistance and, at the request of the party
concerned, ask to review judicial or administrative actions related
to its area
of competence;

i) To provide technical assistance to the Public Prosecutor’s Office
and to judicial tribunals;

j) To inform public opinion about discriminatory, xenophobic or racist
attitudes or conduct on the part of public bodies or private
persons;

k) To assemble prima facie evidence on the presence in the country of persons
who during the Second World War or later may have taken
part in exterminating
peoples or in persecuting or killing persons or groups of persons because of
their ethnic origin, religion,
nationality or political opinions and, where
need be, file complaints with the competent authorities;

l) To institute and pursue the judicial proceedings for immediate protection
provided for in the national Constitution;

m) To establish links of co-operation with national or foreign entities,
whether public or private, that have objectives similar to
those of the
Institute;

n) To propose to the relevant body the conclusion of new extradition
treaties;

o) To conclude agreements for the achievement of the objectives assigned to
INADI.

93. These objectives show that this body has broad functions ranging from
matters of theory to practical assistance. Thus, on the
one hand, it promotes
study and research into the subjects that concern it, canvasses the principles
of non-discrimination in education
centres and among the public at large,
advises State bodies or private entities and establishes contacts with relevant
institutions;
and, on the other, it assists individuals or groups suffering
discrimination, receives and lodges complaints and in some cases is
empowered to
institute emergency judicial action to protect victims.

94. Both INADI and the Human Rights Secretariat in the Ministry of Justice
and Human Rights have a mandate to teach security personnel
and prison staff.
Subparagraph d) in the list of objectives of the Secretariat establishes
that it is one of its functions "to train
police officers and security forces to
carry out their tasks in obedience to the rules and principles of existing
legislation and,
therefore, in accordance with United Nations recommendations".
INADI also considers that that is part of its work in the context
of its general
objectives of publicizing international and national provisions against
discrimination, xenophobia and racism and
ensuring compliance with them
(art. 4, para. a) and of providing assistance to the
Prosecutor’s Office and the judicial tribunals
(art. 4,
para. i). The two organizations co-ordinate their work. For example, in
the courses organized by the Secretariat it has
been agreed to devote part of
the subject-matter to problems of discrimination.

95. Argentina itself has submitted all the reports required by the Committee
of experts on Racial Discrimination (CERD). Furthermore,
as the present report
is being drafted the administrative procedures are well advanced for adoption of
the draft law that will authorise
the national Executive to make the declaration
provided for in article 14 of the Convention recognising the competence of
the Committee
to hear and examine communications from persons or groups of
persons within the jurisdiction of the Argentine Republic.

X. THE WORK OF INADI. ANTI-DISCRIMINATION POLICY

IMPLEMENTATION MEASURES

96. The following is a summary of INADI’s work during the period
2000-2002, which shows how the struggle is waged in Argentina
against
discrimination and racism.

Scientific research and training. The projects under way are as
follows:

– "Recording and analysis of complaints of discrimination submitted
to INADI"

The report on complaints received during the period 1997-1999 has been
drafted and includes a classification by subject and level
of gravity;
indicates the agent responsible for the act of discrimination, differentiating
institutions and individuals and state
or private entities; and details the
ways the Institute evaluates the complaints it receives. This report is ready
for publication.
Work is now being done on the recording and analysis of
complaints submitted during the period 2000-2001.

– "Towards an analysis of how the notion of ‘otherness’
is constituted, as an aid to understanding practices of
genocide in
society"

Work has begun on what goes into creating the oppressor’s consciousness
of self and dehumanization of ‘the other’,
the process that makes
the latter a negative quantity and allows inhuman action against him. A report
already exists on the ways
in which the notion of negative
‘otherness’ was built up in Argentine thinking at the end of the
19th and beginning of the 20th century.

– "The cultural mechanisms and aesthetic discourse of social
exclusion in Argentina: a comparative investigation into the
acculturation
through education of indigenous and Arab or Jewish minorities and cultural and
media discrimination against them"

Work has begun on recording the architectural heritage of various Argentine
cities and how it appears in and overlaps with the aesthetic
idiom of the groups
analysed.

– "Identity and ‘otherness’ in Basic General Education
(EGB) textbooks"

This project is being carried forward in co-ordination with the National
Institute of the Arts and Sciences of Cultural Diversity
of the Tres de Febrero
National University. The whole set of textbooks used nationally during the
period 2000-2002 in the EGB first
cycle (first, second and third grades), the
work of 10 publishing houses, is considered. The first report is being
prepared, investigating
the ways in which the notion of ‘otherness’
is created in terms of the characteristics of the persons and of the typical
classroom featured in the textbooks. For this the characters’ complexion,
hair colour, work and/or profession are examined,
as well the relationships
among them. A careful qualitative analysis is also made of the ways in which
the notion of "otherness"
is constructed in the text.

97. Two seminars have also been held: one on antidiscrimination training
(with marks awarded by INAP) for the staff of the Ministry
of the Interior; and
the other an introductory seminar-workshop on antidiscrimination training, held
jointly with the National University
of Córdoba and the Tres de Febrero
National University in June 2002.

98. Towards the end of 2000 the publication of booklets for the general
public was begun. The first two titles are "Racism and xenophobia"
and "The
fight against discrimination as a State policy". In 2001 a book was published
based on the seminar "The question of ‘the
other’". These
activities continue to expand on the basis of research agreements signed with
relevant bodies. New projects
deriving from the research are mentioned
throughout this part of the report.

99. Training and promotion. Courses, conferences and seminars
have been prepared drawing on the research done in INADI, some of which have
proved to be of
national interest. The following deserve mention:

– "MERCOSUR Inter-University Conference against All Forms of
Discrimination, Xenophobia, Racism and Related Forms of Intolerance"
(with the
participation of 248 professors and academics from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay
and Uruguay).

– Seminar entitled "Growing in equality. Equity between men and women"
(addressed to heads of middle schools in cities in the
interior of the country).
A selection process was evaluated by UNICEF.

– Seminar entitled "Migrant women".

– "Impact of the National Programme of Training for Trainers against
All Forms of Discrimination, Xenophobia, Racism and Related
Forms of
Intolerance", held in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Neuquén and
Misiones and addressed to EGB and polymodal
teachers (with certificates given to
those who attended). The selection process was evaluated by UNICEF.

– "Pilot experiment in schools of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires
on the experience of fighting discrimination in the classroom".

– "Public employees and discrimination". Two seminars addressed to
public employees and organized by INADI and the National
Institute of Political
and Social Leaders (INCAP).

– "Introductory seminar on antidiscrimination training" Addressed to
teachers and the general public and organized by INADI
and the Syrian-Lebanese
Society of Córdoba, the National University of Córdoba and the
Tres de Febrero National University.

– "The Arab image in the West, the history of an illusion". Addressed
to the general public and organized by INADI and the
"Los Cedros"
Foundation.

– Introductory training seminar-workshop for education policies
"Collective identities, migrations and cultural diversity in
Argentina".
Addressed to middle-school and university teachers, organized by INADI, INCAP,
the National University of Río
Cuarto, the Syrian-Lebanese Society of
S.M.Río Cuarto and sponsored by the Institute of the Arts and Sciences of
Cultural
Diversity of the Tres de Febrero National University, "Alarife"
Programme of Comparative Research, and the Association of Technical
Education
Teachers (AMET)

– "National discussion days on the cultural crossroads, the
intermingling of cultures and Mudejar culture in Argentina". Addressed
to
teachers and the general public and organized by INADI, the National Library,
the Institute of the Arts and Sciences of Cultural
Diversity of the Tres de
Febrero National University, "Alarife" Programme of Comparative Research, the
Chair of Islamic and Mudejar
Art of the Faculty of Architecture, Design and
Urbanism of the University of Buenos Aires and the Argentine Council for
International
Affairs.

100. As part of the prevention of discriminatory behaviour, it is a priority
for INADI to prepare and to hold courses on antidiscrimination
training and the
strengthening of institutions addressed to NGO leaders, students and
professionals, as well as to members of the
armed forces and security forces;
among them, to heads and members of NGOs representing the foreign communities
living in the country,
employees of the national Public Administration, minor
public officials in direct contact with the citizenry, employees of the Public
Administration of the Municipalities of Avellaneda, Quilmes and Morón;
representatives of bodies that protect the rights
of disabled persons, agents of
the Federal Penitentiary Service, Federal Police agents and community leaders.
Training symposia
and lectures are also organized as part of the activities of
the "Cultural Exchange" Programme carried out by the Institute jointly
with the
national Secretariat for Culture.

101. Complaints centre. This is devoted to receiving and
analysing complaints and assisting and advising persons or groups of persons who
feel they are
victims of discriminatory practices. INADI works in the following
way: once the truth of the allegation has been checked, it seeks
a peaceful
solution to the dispute through legal advice, administrative management,
mediation and free legal aid.

102. Relations with the public have been without incident in recent years.
In 2002, 1,092 different submissions were received in
the form of consultations,
official letters or requests for reports. In the same year 180 complaints were
recorded and are now being
dealt with, at the same time as those left over from
2001. About eight people come to ask for advice each day, which means a total
of some 2,000 a year. The average number of telephone or e-mail requests for
advice is 10 a day, from citizens, institutions or
the media.

103. The causes of the 180 complaints received in 2002 concerned:

– Ethnic, national and religious affiliation (48)

– Politics and ideology (34)

– Disability (29)

– Age (8)

– Sickness (17)

– Gender (10)

– Socio-economic status (2)

– Sexuality (2)

– Physical appearance (1)

– Criminal record (1)

– Various handicaps (28)

104. Statistical analyses and descriptions of the situation with regard to
discrimination have been prepared at the request of State,
provincial and
municipal bodies, the Legislature, the Judiciary, Ombudsmen, the media and NGOs.
Information has been provided to
the following entities: the National
Women’s Council, the General National Trade-Union Group, the Legislature
of the City
of Buenos Aires, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the
Ministry of Labour, the Clarín Group, Página 12,
Infotrans,
the magazine "Para Ti" and the magazine "Noticias".

105. Moreover, training symposia have been organized for the Office of the
Ombudsman of the City of Neuquén concerning complaints
of discrimination
and disability, pursuant to the agreement established between the two
organizations. Mention should also be made
of the training of technical and
professional staff and the conference-workshop with the general public held in
April 2002.

106. For the Committee’s information we give some of the cases of
greatest importance or impact from the year 2002, grouped
according to
cause:

a) Ethnic, national or religious discrimination

– Complaint No. 454, Leila Selem v. Sanfuentes.
Discrimination by reason of a refusal to rent an apartment to a Jewish
couple.

– Complaint No. 587, President of the American Bar Association
v. Army Chief of General Staff. Allegedly anti-Semitic remarks made by
General Ricardo Brinzoni, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces.

– Complaint No. 612, The Toba Nam Qom community v. Police Force
of the Province of Formosa. Ethnic discrimination and an attack on the
community.

b) Discrimination against disabled persons

– Complaint No. 450, Claudio Waisbord v. Southern Winds.
Discrimination, because a disabled person was prevented from boarding an
aircraft in the airport of the City of Buenos Aires.

– Complaint No. 559, Juan Carlos Duetta v. Cabred College.
Discrimination, because the appellant is deaf and was not allowed to register
for a career as a teacher of the deaf.

– Complaint No. 605, Marcelo Lanzzavechia v. Southern
Winds. Discrimination, because a disabled person was prevented from taking
one of their flights.

107. Pilot project for active mediation, the speedy resolution of
disputes. The unit for the speedy resolution of disputes deals with
complaints referred to it by the head of the INADI complaints centre,
which by
their nature can be resolved case by case by bringing the parties together,
finding out first what kind of dispute it is
and then trying to reconcile their
positions. This service is offered in an attempt to avoid people having to
travel to seek solutions.
Some of the cases dealt with are:

– Between schools and migrant children

– Situations of neglect which, although they do not constitute clear
cases of discrimination, can be resolved through the unit’s
assistance
networks for the protection of citizens’ human rights.

– Problems of health care in hospitals for refugees and disabled
persons at risk.

108. Publicity. A wide-ranging publicity campaign was launched
in March 2001 (at the end of the southern-hemisphere summer). The State media
(Channel
7 and National Radio) broadcast messages or "spots" against
discrimination. Widespread coverage was ensured by putting up posters
in
schools, banks, government buildings, health centres and transport terminals.
With the same aim a radio campaign was launched
with popular actors taking
part. INADI publishes updated information about its aims and its work on
the website www.inadi.gov.ar.

109. Documentation and information centre. Pursuant to Act
No. 24,515 (which created INADI), in 2002 an area co-ordinator was
appointed to set up the documentation centre,
so as to have a place where the
existing theoretical and institutional documentation on the subject could be
consulted, recorded
and stored.A bibliographical archive is being constituted on
discrimination, xenophobia and racism, a policy of exchanging publications
with
other academic and political institutions has been initiated and the centre is
preparing to open to the public next semester.

110. Legal and technical service. This is designed to
complement INADI’s general activity through the internal circulation of
the material produced, the promotion
of compliance with antidiscrimination
provisions in the administrative area and participation in drafting resolutions,
laws and communications
and handling proceedings. It also drafts and implements
proposals for legal action. Its administrative work begins with the examination
of the complaints submitted and the initiation of judicial action aimed at
halting and/or remedying any possible harm caused by the
act of discrimination.
It concludes with the respective ruling.

111. Work experience. Pursuant to an agreement signed with the
Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Buenos Aires, students may
fulfil their
research requirements by working at INADI. Similar agreements
exist with other private universities. Three courses for university
students
have been agreed, beginning in April 2002.

112. National prevention programmes. Since the beginning of
2001, four national prevention programmes have been organized to forestall acts
of discrimination against
specific sectors of the population. They are the
result of a survey done in the INADI national complaints centre.

a) National programme to prevent discrimination against the elderly:
at the legislative level the programme took part, together with the Legislature
of the City of Buenos Aires, in preparing a preliminary
draft law on the
elderly. Co-operation and technical assistance agreements have been signed with
the National Institute for Retirees
and Pensioners (PAMI) and with the Permanent
Assembly for Human Rights (APDH). "National discussion days on old age and
discrimination"
have been held with the participation of civilian speakers and
government bodies, as well as a symposium entitled "Building a society
for all
ages: intergenerational ties in a society for all and with all", financed by
the Government of the City of Buenos Aires.
A training programme for PAMI
volunteers was held on the theme of age discrimination in the Buenos Aires City
district and Buenos
Aires province, later extended to the rest of the
country.

b) National programme to prevent discrimination against the disabled:
together with the National Advisory Committee for the Integration of the
Disabled, a cycle of antidiscrimination training and institutional
strengthening
was organized. A complaint was brought against the National Transport
Regulation Commission (CNRT) for non-compliance
with the law in force in the
Autonomous City of Buenos Aires regarding the accessibility of public automotive
transport for those
with reduced mobility. A study has been prepared pursuant
to Decree No. 914/97 concerning access to existing railway stations and
those planned for construction and/or alteration. Work has been done towards
strengthening the capacity of the disabled effectively
to express their views
and participate in decision-making, so that they can intervene in the
determination, follow-up and assessment
of public policy.

c) National programme to prevent discrimination against migrants, refugees
andindigenous peoples: an agreement was signed with the National
Register of Persons for the purpose of creating a free advice bureau on the
procedures
for settling in the Argentine Republic. Likewise, a project has been
submitted to the Regional Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) concerning co-operation to protect refugees. And a complaint
has been lodged with the Human Rights
Department of the Rector’s Office of
the University of Buenos Aires calling for the resolutions of the Higher Council
banning
young foreigners from the University to be repealed.

113. Institutional relations. Agreements have been signed to
provide a framework of mutual assistance and collaboration in the following
areas:

a) Public administration. The National Institute for Retirees and
Pensioners (PAMI), the City of Neuquén Ombudsman’s Office and the
Cassation
Ombudsman’s Office of the Province of Buenos Aires. The
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the National Register of Persons,
the
Secretariat for Criminal Policy and Penitentiary Affairs, the Under-Secretariat
for Security of the Ministry of the Interior
(to train staff of the Federal
Police, the National Gendarmerie, the Prefecture and the Prisons).

b) Communities. The Comprehensive Civil Association for Development
(ACI), the Bet El community, the Pedro B. Palacio "Almafuerte" Study Centre,
the
Sergio Karakachoff Foundation and the Foundation for Growth, Research and
Development (FIDES).

c) Education. The General Directorate of Culture and Education of the
Province of Buenos Aires, the national Ministry of Education, the Secretariat
for Education of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, the Organization of
Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture
(OIE) and the
International Organization for Migration (IOM).

d) Municipal. The municipalities of Avellaneda, Quilmes and San
Martín.

e) Parliamentary. The Chamber of Deputies of the Province of Buenos
Aires.

f) Professional. The Bar Associations of the cities of Azul, Buenos
Aires, Comodoro Rivadavia, Corrientes, General Sarmiento, Jujuy, Marcos
Juárez,
Neuquén, Río Gallegos, Rosario, Santa Fe, San
Isidro, San Luis, Trelew and Venado Tuerto; the Fourth and Fifth Judicial
Circuit of the Province of Santa Fe; the Southern Bar Association, the Public
Bar Association of the Federal Capital and the Argentine
Federation of Bar
Associations – to co-operate for the defence of fundamental
guarantees.

g) Trade unions. The Workers’ Association of the State of
Santiago del Estero (ATE) and the Confederation of Education Workers – on
training and refresher courses for teachers.

h) Universities. The Social Sciences Faculty of the University of
Buenos Aires, the Legal and Social Sciences Faculty of the National University
of the Littoral, Law Faculty of the National University of Lomas de Zamora, the
University of Business and Social Sciences (UCES),
the National University of La
Plata and the National University of Rosario – for technical and academic
assistance.

114. International relations. Although INADI’s work
belongs to the national sphere, it is nevertheless called upon to comply with
the international obligations
of the Argentine State. Those obligations involve
reporting on its activities, assessing and responding to matters dealt with by
international bodies and, in general, co-operating in the universal struggle
against discrimination. Given those premises, its work
is the following:

a) Analysis and planning of documents. INADI has studied and
organized a great number of documents of this type, the most important being the
preparatory documents for
the World Conference against Racism, Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa,
and
the drafts of the Inter-American Convention against Racism and all Forms of
Discrimination and Intolerance. In 2002, it prepared
six documents summarizing
the Durban Conclusions, two of which have been disseminated over the Public
Administration’s Internet
network.

b) Preparation of documents describing and giving information on conflicts
and their detection and outlining solution strategies for
questions of
discrimination,for presentation to international forums. Among the
main documents that have been prepared are the following:

– "Judicial cases involving acts of discrimination"

– "Assessment of the Third Preparatory Meeting for the World Conference
against Racism, Durban, South Africa" (preparatory document
for the Argentine
delegation)

– "Report on the situation of refugees in the Argentine Republic"

– "Argentine antidiscrimination policy", drafted in English and
Spanish

– "National policy against racist political party platforms and
measures to curb such trends"

– "Summary and evaluation of the Programme of Action and Declaration of
the World Conference against Racism, Durban, South Africa"
(preparatory document
for the Argentine delegation)

– "A case of discrimination against migrants from neighbouring
countries and its solution", in English and Spanish

– "Summary of the conclusions of the Durban World Conference" (six
documents)

– "Basis for the implementation in Argentina of the National Plan
against Discrimination"

Preparation of replies to questions and requests for advice and
furtherinformation from international bodies.

The following were dealt with:

– Questionnaire from the Organization of American States (OAS) on a
draft of the Inter-American Convention against Racism and
All Forms of
Discrimination and Intolerance

– Preparatory document for the World Conference against Racism, Durban,
South Africa

– Document classifying the Durban Conclusions

– Draft of a national plan against discrimination (see below "National
Plan against Discrimination")

c) Participation in international forums and collaboration in preparing
oral and written reports.

– Human Rights Committee on the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights. Report followed by questions (October
2000)

– Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD).
Replies before the Committee to questions put forward by the
experts on
Argentina’s fourteenth and fifteenth reports (March 2001)

– Workshop on the application of international human rights standards
by the national courts in Latin American countries, Montevideo
(October
2001)

d) Participation in international meetings and drafting of statements to
be submitted in advance in writing.

– International Forum on Combating Intolerance organized by the Office
of the Prime Minister of Sweden. The INADI expert was
the only Latin American
invited as a main speaker (January 2001)

– Workshop on the formulation of strategies for the promotion of
economic, social and cultural rights, organized by the United
Nations (Buenos
Aires, October 2001)

– Two seminars on the implementation of human rights in the country
organized for public officials and security authorities
in agreement with the
Human Rights Secretariat (July and September 2002)

– Symposium to commemorate Human Rights Day, organized jointly with the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs with special emphasis on
discrimination and the
Conclusions of the Durban Conference (December 2002)

XI. NATIONAL ANTIDISCRIMINATION PLAN

Background

115. In 2001, the Government of the Republic of Argentina, with the
sponsorship of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
set out to
prepare a National Plan against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Other Forms of
Intolerance. The aim of this plan is to
implement the Conclusions of the United
Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and
Other Forms
of Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa, in August and September
2001.

116. The Plan will draw on a broad-ranging national dialogue that includes
population groups in situations of vulnerability, non-governmental
organizations, academic sectors, the parliamentary commissions with competence
in this field and the government departments involved
in its implementation.
Specific, effectual measures will be proposed to combat discrimination,
xenophobia and other forms of intolerance,
measures susceptible of being
implemented in Argentina that will enable effective protection to be offered to
the most vulnerable
sectors of society.

117. To that end an Interministerial Committee (IC) has been formed, composed
of representatives of the Heads of the National Presidential
Cabinet, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship, the Human Rights
Secretariat of the Ministry of Justice,
Security and Human Rights and INADI.
The IC will supervise the execution of the Plan by means of executive
co-ordination, a task
entrusted to INADI. A decree of the Executive was ready
for signature as the present report was being drafted.

Functions of the Interministerial Committee

The Interministerial Committee will outline a national antidiscrimination
plan on the basis of criteria of transparency and the guidelines
laid down in
the Declaration and Plan of Action of the Third World Conference adopted in
Durban, South Africa, on 8 September 2001.
For this it will have to:

a) Determine areas of work by subject;

b) Decide on the formation of work teams and how they will operate on the
basis of a broad dialogue with groups in situations of vulnerability,
NGOs and
government departments involved;

c) Designate its own officers and adopt appropriate rules of procedure for
its work;

d) Appoint facilitators for the work teams;

e) Set guidelines for the facilitators’ work and oversee its execution
by means of an executive co-ordination body;

f) Encourage participation at the provincial and municipal levels in
providing input for the drafting of the Plan;

g) Set deadlines for the work teams;

h) Adopt the National Antidiscrimination Plan;

i) Present the Plan to international bodies so as to raise funds for its
implementation;

j) Arrange with the national and provincial government bodies the effective
implementation of the conclusions of the Plan.

Dialogue and consultation

118. The IC esteems that the following sectors should, in principle, be
considered as groups in situations of vulnerability:

– Immigrants

– Refugees

– Indigenous peoples

– National, ethnic and linguistic minorities

– Religious communities

– Victims of gender discrimination

– Children

– Victims of discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation

– The disabled

– The elderly

– HIV/AIDS infected persons

The aim of the Plan is to propose policies on the basis of dialogue and
consultation with these sectors.

Subject areas

119. Taking the subjects proposed by the Third World Conference against
Racism held in Durban, it has been decided to divide the Plan
into the following
areas:

Selection of subject areas and facilitators. Terms and
conditions for holding the dialogue and consultation. Facilitators’
terms
of reference. Designation of interlocutors. Secretariat for co-ordination.
Budget

Date of debate

09/12/02

Drafting

Interministerial Committee

Facilitators/Work teams

Subject areas

Forum for prior dialogue with vulnerable
groups/facilitators

Following Durban terms of reference and criteria

1. Reports from Facilitators/Work teams

1.

1.

Preparation of the draft

national plan

Facilitators

NGOs

Government departments

Implementing bodies

Day of debate

National

Plan

Negotiations/Meetings

with government bodies charged with implementing the Conclusions

Presentation of the National Plan to UNDP

to mobilize funds for its implementation

Interministerial Committee promotes

120. Six facilitators will be responsible for promoting intersectoral
dialogue and preparing the draft national plan. Their work
is essential for the
proper fulfilment of the objectives proposed. It is considered that
facilitators must meet the following criteria.
They must:

Be experts in the subject

Have professional qualifications

Enjoy the respect of NGOs

Enjoy the respect of the government departments concerned

Be skilled in dialogue

Be committed to the Durban goals

Be able to summarize and draft

The terms of reference for the facilitators shall be as follows:

a) To study the Conclusions of the Durban World Conference and other similar
documents so as to implement them in Argentina;

b) To take part in and, where appropriate, co-ordinate the meetings for
dialogue and consultation with the groups in situations of
vulnerability, NGOs
and government departments concerned with the subject of discrimination. Those
meetings may be held in the federal
capital or in the hinterland;

c) To prepare partial or general drafts, minutes of meetings or other working
documents for information or for debate with their interlocutors
and the IC;

d) To draft a plan of action applicable to the subject area assigned to them
and submit it to the IC within the agreed time limit;

e) To take part in the discussions and report on their work during the public
days of debate or other meetings, which are programmed
separately;

f) To collaborate in the preparation of the final draft of the national
plan;

g) To comply in all their work with the instructions given them by the IC
through the executive co-ordination body.

ARTICLE 3

XII. APARTHEID

121. As has been stated in earlier documents, no system comparable to the
regime of apartheid exists in Argentina. The 1853 Constitution, which
was the point of departure for a reorganization of the country’s
institutions and which remains in force as far as its
principles are concerned,
stipulates that "The Argentine Nation admits no prerogatives of birth or blood.
In it there are no special
privileges or titles of nobility ...". The
proclamation of freedom for slaves’ offspring occurred in 1813 when
the colony
was in the process of gaining independence. The remaining slaves
were freed once and for all in 1853.

122. Article 2 of the Constitution provides that "The Argentine Nation
supports the Roman Catholic and apostolic form of worship". However, as
doctrine and jurisprudence
have made clear, the word "supports" should be
understood purely in terms of economic contribution and not as implying
discrimination.
It has already been said that in the 1994 revision the
requirement that the president or vice-president of the Republic had to be
"Catholic" to be elected, a condition in force since the first Constitution, was
eliminated.

123. The provision in the 1853 Constitution to the effect that "immigration
from Europe shall be encouraged" should be understood as a norm of
mid-19th century population policy and not as a system of social
differentiation. The Supreme Court has stated this on many occasions, as
is
made clear in the judicial rulings cited in the first part of this report and
under article 2, section VII. This provision was
not repealed in the
1994 revision, because the political consensus that made possible the appeal to
the Constituent Convention expressly
excluded discussion of the part of the
Constitution dealing with principles (the first 36 articles) and the revision
was limited to the organic provisions.

124. What is more, Argentina has ratified the International Convention on the
Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid,
the Convention against
Apartheid in Sports, the Slavery Convention and the Supplementary Convention on
the Abolition of Slavery,
the Slave Trade and Institutions and Practices Similar
to Slavery.

125. This report is not trying to hide the existence of discriminatory social
conduct which is clearly reprehensible and is what inspires
national policies to
combat intolerance. It is only pointing out that discrimination in its most
extreme forms, such as apartheid, does not exist and that there are no
legal or administrative provisions of any kind that could justify such a
regime.

ARTICLE 4

XIII. PROHIBITION AND PUNISHMENT OF DISCRIMINATION

126. It has already been stated that the 1994 constitutional revision
incorporated amparo proceedings as a form of "prompt and speedy action
against any act or omission on the part of public authorities or individuals
which
actually or potentially infringes, restricts, jeopardizes or threatens
rights and guarantees recognised in this Constitution, a treaty or a law in a
manifestly arbitrary or illegal manner" (art. 43, para. 1). In the
second paragraph it states that that
action may be brought "against any
form of discrimination". The same constitutional provision establishes the
proceedings known
technically as habeas corpus and habeas data, both legal
institutions appropriate for defence against discrimination.

127. In compliance with article 4 of the Convention on the Elimination
of Racial Discrimination, Act No. 23,592, in force since 5
November 1988,
was adopted to punish illegal and criminal activities linked to discrimination.
Its regulations have been incorporated
in the Criminal Code and are therefore
binding on all inhabitants of the country and all social organizations,
including political
parties.

128. Article 1 of Act No. 23,592 stipulates that "anyone who
arbitrarily impedes, obstructs, restricts or in any way impairs the full
exercise on an equal footing of the rights and
guarantees recognised in the
national Constitution shall be obliged, at the request of the victim, to annul
or desist from the discriminatory conduct and make restitution for the moral
and
physical injury caused". And in the second paragraph it adds that
"particular consideration shall be given to discriminatory acts or omissions
committed for such reasons as race, religion, nationality,
ideology, political
or trade-union views, sex, economic standing, social status or physical
characteristics". Likewise, article 2 of the same law provides for
"raising by one third the minimum and by half the maximum penalty for any
offence ... when it is committed out of hatred for or to
persecute a race,
religion or nationality or with the aim of destroying, wholly or in part, a
national, ethnic, racial or religious
group".

129. As far as organizations are concerned, article 3 of Act
No. 23,592 provides for "punishing by imprisonment of one month to three
years ... those who participate in an organization or engage in propaganda based
on ideas or theories of the superiority of a race
or group of persons of a
specific religion, ethnic origin or colour, with the purpose of justifying or
promoting racial or religious
discrimination in any form".The same penalty shall
apply to those "who encourage or incite to persecution or hatred against a
person
or groups of persons because of their race, religion, nationality or
political ideas".

130. With regard to the specific question of the measures adopted to counter
any discriminatory or racist political party platforms,
reference should be made
to article 38 of the Constitution which establishes that "Political parties
are basic institutions of the democratic system. This Constitution guarantees
the free establishment and exercise of their activities, as well as their
democratic organization and foundations." That
being the case, political
parties must be organized in respect for the main international human rights
conventions, among them the
International Convention on the Elimination of all
Forms of Racial Discrimination.

XIV. CASE LAW APPLYING ADDITIONAL PUNISHMENT

FOR OFFENCES WITH INTENT TO DISCRIMINATE

131. Several judicial rulings have confirmed the application of Act
No. 23,592, for example:

Regarding article 2 of Act No. 23,592 (Increase of
penalty)

– Case of F. Montoya Navarro v. Argentine Football Association.
In proceedings no. 99,142, the National Labour Court No. 61 in its
ruling of 8 March 1999 considered that "to ban someone from
being called on to
be part of the Argentine football squad, not because he is a foreigner, but
because he had represented his country
of origin on an earlier occasion
(art. 18 of the statutes of the Fédération Internationale de
Football Association
(FIFA)) is an act of discrimination and therefore
unconstitutional, in that it impedes, obstructs, restricts and impairs the full
exercise on an equal footing of the fundamental rights and guarantees recognised
in the national Constitution."

– Romero case. The National Federal Criminal and Correctional
Court No. 4, Secretariat No. 7, suit no. 13,237/99, in its
decision of 21 December
1999, considered the fact that an individual had seized
from the plaintiff the "kippa" he was wearing on his head in order to play
with
it and then refused to give it back, finally throwing it on to the pavement and
calling him "lousy Jew". The judge concluded
that the established conduct
constituted a crime of attempted robbery (articles 44 and 162 of the Criminal
Code) with aggravating
circumstances, by virtue of article 2 of Act
No. 23,592.

– Liliana Graciela Bonavota case. (Federal Criminal and
Correctional Court, courtroom II, suit no. 13,682, registration
no. 15,121, decision of 19 February
1998.) The case was brought ex
officio by the head of the Correctional Prosecutor’s Office No. 4
against the lawyer Liliana Graciela Bonavota who had expressed herself
in
offensive terms in the presence of legal officers regarding a plaintiff,
alluding to his Jewish religion. Examining the case
in question, the Federal
Chamber of the City of Buenos Aires expressed its view that "It is clear that
the rule under consideration
does not seek to penalize statements solely for
their discriminatory content, but requires that they thereby aim to encourage or
incite third persons in the direction sought. It follows that the conduct
denounced must involve far more than the expression of
an idea or a sentiment
and that the circumstance of its having discriminatory connotations cannot alone
ensure that the conduct falls
within the definition of this offence
(article 3, Act No. 23,592)".

– Maradona case. (Federal Criminal and Correctional Court,
courtroom I, suit no. 30,308, registration no. 995, decision of 20
November 1998)
It was stated that the conduct described in article 3 of
Act No. 23,592 required participation in an organization, encouraging or
inciting to persecution or hatred, or engaging in propaganda aimed at justifying
or promoting racial or religious or any other form
of discrimination.

– Whalala case. (Federal Criminal and Correctional Court,
courtroom I, suit no. 31,240, registration no. 1109, decision of 7
December 1999)
The case was admitted, it being proven that the accused had
engaged in selling films of a certain kind over the internet, among
which were
found some such as "The Eternal Jew" that were based on ideas of ethnic
superiority and carried messages denigrating all
members of the Jewish
community, bearing in mind that the promotion and sale of such films would have
been an ideal way of inciting
hatred against that community.

– Case of Buela et al. Suit no. 31,240, decided by the
National Appeals Court for Criminal and Correctional Affairs of the Federal
Capital on 7 December
1999. Two persons were tried for circulating a film
eulogizing the national-socialist regime. The court decided that "marketing
a
propaganda film produced by the German State in the time of the
national-socialist regime, which thereby ceases to be a historical
document and
serves once again the purpose for which it was created, given its clear
orientation towards racial hatred, constitutes
the crime which, together with
its punishment, is covered in article 3 of Act No. 23,592, namely,
incitement to hatred against a
community of persons by reason of their race,
religion, nationality or political ideas". In the sentence, the legal
definition given
earlier was changed to "the crime of inciting hatred of a
community of persons by reason of their race", which crime is covered in
article 3, paragraph 2 of Act No. 23,592.

XV. ATTACKS ON ISRAELI EMBASSY AND AMIA
(ARGENTINE-JEWISH

MUTUAL ASSOCIATION)

In response to requests made by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination at the last session, we shall now shed
light on the status of the
investigation into these two attacks.

Israeli Embassy

132. The inquiry into this attack is taking place in the Supreme Court of
Justice in proceedings for which a special secretariat has
been set up to
investigate the incident. On 10 May 1999, the Court issued a decision in whose
preamble it stated that evidence given
in the case provide a degree of certainty
allowing it to be affirmed that the attack on the Israeli Embassy was organized
and carried
out by the terrorist group called Islamic Jihad, the military arm of
Hezbollah.

133. On 23 December 1999, the Court accepted as proven that on 17 March an
attack was perpetrated against the Israeli Embassy and
its Consulate using a car
bomb which exploded outside the Embassy building. It also established that the
attack had been carried
out by Islamic Jihad, the military arm of Hezbollah, for
which reason a person said to be the head of that organization has already
been
tried. In that same ruling, the Court ordered the investigation to concentrate
on those members of the organization who were
active in our country. At present
the Supreme Court is focusing its action on the search for the actual
perpetrators of the crime.

134. On 15 August 2000, a person of Pakistani nationality sought by INTERPOL
for questioning in the case was detained in the city
of Los Angeles.

It should be mentioned that various sectors have questioned the Supreme
Court’s action in the inquiry into the attack on the
Israeli Embassy,
which is one of the reasons why action for dismissal of several members of that
Court was called for.

AMIA (Argentine-Jewish Mutual Association)

135. The inquiry into the attack on AMIA is being conducted in the Ninth
National Federal Criminal and Correctional Court, secretariat
no. 17, by
Dr. Juan José Galeano. At present, with the co-operation of the
plaintiff, steps are being taken to shed light
on what took place, while at the
same time separate investigations are under way concerning those involved and
theories that require
corroboration. In February 2000, the relevant order was
issued to transfer the matter to oral, public trial, which began in September
2001 in the Third Oral Tribunal for Federal Criminal Affairs. Those hearings
are continuing without prejudice to the ongoing investigations
into the rest of
the case. The competent departments of the Argentine Foreign Office have been
following the case with regard to
those aspects with international consequences,
requests to other countries for co-operation and legal assistance etc.

136. On 1 September 1999, Memoria Activa presented a petition to the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States
(OAS), alleging violations
by the State of Argentina of the rights recognised in
the American Convention on Human Rights. The Government of the Republic of
Argentina proposed that the Inter-American Commission appoint an observer to
assist in the oral hearings, who could check that they
were accompanied by the
appropriate guarantees. The Commission accepted the proposal of the Argentine
Government.

137. In addition, by Decree No. 452/00, amended by No. 430/01, the
Special Unit to investigate the attack against AMIA was set up.
Pursuant to
article 2 of that decree, the purpose of the unit is not only to assist
with the requirements formulated in the case
or linked to it, but also to carry
out investigations on its own initiative. Its members are officials from
departments dealing
with terrorism-related matters in the Argentine Federal
Police, the State Secretariat for Intelligence (SIDE), the Argentine Naval
Command, the National Gendarmerie, the Federal Penitentiary Service and the
Anti-Corruption Office. The work of all these is co-ordinated
by an Executive
Secretary assigned to the Secretariat for Justice and Legislative Affairs of the
Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

138. Furthermore, on 12 March 2002, the President of the Republic signed
Decree No. 490/02 whereby the former head of SIDE and officers
and former
officers of that Secretariat were released from the obligation to maintain
secrecy regarding SIDE’s activities in
the judicial inquiry concerning
AMIA, solely to permit them to appear as witnesses in the case. This
authorization does not extend
to acts involving citizens of third countries or
those linked to foreign intelligence services.

ARTICLE 5

XVI. LEGISLATIVE BACKGROUND

139. As has been previously reported, provision is made for the rights
protected in the laws of the Argentine Republic to be enjoyed
and exercised by
all its inhabitants.

140. The Supreme Court has made it clear that the word "inhabitant" includes
both nationals and foreigners and refers to those who
reside in the territory of
the Republic with the intention of remaining there, and inhabit it, even if they
have not constituted
a domicile with all the legal effects pertaining thereto.
Without prejudice to the foregoing, Argentine jurisprudence has been
complemented
by the provisions of the human rights treaties by which the State
is bound and which have constitutional rank in our country.

141. At the same time, article 14 of the Constitution states that
"all the inhabitants of the Nation enjoy the following rights in accordance
with the laws that govern their exercise: the right to
work and to engage in
any lawful industry, to navigate and to trade; to petition the authorities; to
enter, remain in, transit
through and leave the territory of Argentina; to
publish their ideas in the press without prior censorship; to use and dispose
of their property; to associate together for useful purposes; to profess their
religion freely; to teach and to learn".

142. Likewise, as was stated in earlier reports, none of the rights in
article 5 of the Convention is the subject of any restriction
for reasons
of colour or ethnic or national origin, except as concerns the exercise of
political rights which, as in other countries,
are subjected to limitations on
the basis of nationality.

143. Moreover, the Constitution in chapter 1, article 20 "Declarations,
rights and guarantees", states that "Foreigners enjoy in the territory of the
Nation all the civil rights of citizens; they may engage in their industry,
trade or profession;
own property and buy and sell it; navigate along the
rivers and coasts; freely profess their religion; make wills and marry under
the laws. They are not compelled to accept citizenship or to pay extraordinary
compulsory taxes".

144. It would seem that the Argentine Republic has shown great
open-mindedness in welcoming foreigners and in its migrant tradition.
However,
in the 1853 Constitution, article 25, it says that "The Federal
Government shall encourage European immigration; and it shall not be able to
restrict, limit or impose any tax on the
entry into Argentine territory of those
foreigners whose aim is to work the land, improve its industries and introduce
and teach
the sciences and the arts". An immigration total of nearly three
million Europeans, Arabs and Jews, who arrived between 1880 and 1914 seeking
better economic
prospects, and thousands of Slovenian, Croat, Russian, Polish
and Hungarian displaced persons and refugees, who came as the result
of crises
and persecutions that arose during the World Wars, were welcomed by Argentina.
At the same time, problems also arose later
with European immigration and
through laws on residence and social defence, as well as several resolutions of
the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and the National Migration Board, immigration
was gradually circumscribed by means of health, judicial and police control
mechanisms. At all events, since the numbers of people entering Argentina
despite the restrictions was so great, there was a huge
immigration.

ARTICLE 5 (A)

XVII. RIGHT TO EQUALITY OF TREATMENT IN THE TRIBUNALS AND
OTHER ORGANS ADMINISTERING JUSTICE

145. The Constitution in its article 18 stipulates that "No
inhabitant of the Nation may be punished without previous trial based on the law
in force before the act for which he is on trial,
or tried by special
commissions, or removed from the judges appointed by law before the act giving
rise to the trial. No one may
be compelled to testify against himself; or be
arrested except by virtue of a written warrant issued by a competent authority.
The defence by trial of persons and rights may not be violated". Hence it
may be seen that there are no obstacles in the way of access to justice, nor any
distinction made regarding the recourses
available. More information is to be
found in the section on article 2 referring to the work of INADI.

ARTICLE 5 (B)

XVIII. RIGHT TO SECURITY OF PERSON AND PROTECTION

BY THE STATE AGAINST VIOLENCE

146. In addition to what is to be found throughout the report on the actions
of State authorities to protect people against any acts
of discrimination, there
follows detailed information classified by vulnerable group.

XIX. PROTECTION OF INDIGENOUS PERSONS

Indigenous population

147. As was stated in the note preceding the present report, although a
national census was held in 2001, various factors prevented
an accurate tally of
the indigenous population and so official statistics are still not available on
its size.

148. Nevertheless, in March 2003 the National Institute of Statistics and
Censuses began the first National Survey of Indigenous Populations,
as a
complement to the 2001 census, with the assistance of the staff of the National
Institute of Indigenous Affairs (INAI), civil
agents from the different
provinces and, as the result of an agreement signed at the end of February, the
members of the Executive
Committee of Argentine Indigenous Peoples (CEPIA).
Thus it is hoped that when that survey is completed there will be more precise
information about the size of the indigenous population. We trust we shall be
able to bring this information to the oral hearings.

Their whereabouts

149. Indigenous communities are scattered throughout the national territory.
There are no areas of high indigenous population density.
Argentina is a
country with a surface area of approximately 2,900,000 square kilometres and has
regions of sparse population (Patagonia,
for example). This has enabled
indigenous communities to settle in different parts of the country, generally
far from cities or
urban centres, from which they were displaced in the
past.

Their diversity

150. There are about 15 different ethnic groups, each with its own culture,
language and other special features. Furthermore, as
the result of successive
migrations over many decades, families have been formed whose members come from
different ethnic groups
and so new communities have arisen.

151. The three characteristics referred to, namely, that they form a small
part of society; that they are scattered over an extensive
area; and that
there are different peoples and communities, determine the fact that the
execution of decentralized indigenous policies
is itself highly fragmented.
Although a national policy may be adopted on a given subject that includes
"indigenous Argentinians",
reality immediately dictates that local ways of doing
things or different events will intervene in its execution in the provinces,
municipalities or districts where the indigenous people live.

152. In daily practice it is local officials – the police or judges in
localities in the interior – who have to decide
on problems that arise in
the communities. The Nation may give guidelines, adopt policies, legislate or
take on board international
legal provisions, but these are carried out by an
infinite number of officers scattered over far-off regions or in suburbs and big
cities.

153. There is work to be done here that will require much effort and many
years before society has sufficient information to comprehend
the subject and a
special task of training and education for agents of the administration, members
of the security forces, civil
servants and magistrates.

154. Because the indigenous communities are located in marginal areas, far
from cities and industrial centres or petrochemical plants,
it is not often that
industrial development disturbs an indigenous community. However, there have
been instances that have led to
conflict. This was the case with the course of
the North Andean gas pipeline laid through an area inhabited by communities of
the
Kolla people. The organization Greenpeace International took action on that
occasion and INAI also intervened, holding meetings
with the representatives of
the firms Techint, Tecpetrol and Gasoducto Norandino Argentina S.A. In the end
an amicable solution
was achieved, with reparations for the injury done the
communities involved.

155. There is at present a dispute between communities of the Mapuche people
of the province of Neuquén and Repsol YPF S.A.
over complaints of
contaminated soil and ground water. This is being heard by the Inter-American
Commission on Human Rights, whose
officers have made a visit of inquiry to the
province of Neuquén.

156. There is also a debate going on about the exploitation of a gold mine
near Esquel, with claims being made about the alleged harmful
effects that would
ensue from open-cast mining in the future, because of the use of arsenic. The
matter has been widely discussed
in the national press and in the city of Esquel
and has caught the attention of national and provincial officials, various
science
professionals, NGOs and other sectors of civil society.

157. This shows that nothing can take place in secret or surreptitiously,
because of the information available on the problem and
the intervention of the
relevant State bodies. What is more, INADI is keeping itself informed and
staying in contact with the indigenous
communities in the area involved in the
present case. Their economies might be affected if the tourists who buy their
crafts were
to cease coming and if mining without sufficient guarantees
regarding commercialization were to give rise to alarm.

Indigenous peoples’ rights in the administration of justice

158. The indigenous peoples, because they are Argentinian, enjoy all the
rights of the inhabitants of the Argentine Republic by virtue
of the national
Constitution and the other laws in force in our country. Furthermore, the new
thinking that has gained currency throughout the world with regard
to aboriginal
peoples has also been adopted by Argentina.

159. As far as legislative measures to benefit indigenous peoples are
concerned, the Argentine State has taken a fundamental step
in the recognition
of their rights by depositing its instrument of ratification of ILO Convention
169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal
Peoples in Independent Countries. That
ratification took place on 3 July 2000, the entry into force being from July
2001.

160. Although that Convention had already been incorporated by national Act
No. 24,071/92, now that we have ratified it internationally
and by virtue
of article 75, paragraph 22 of our national Constitution, that
international instrument ranks higher than the laws. Convention 169 is perhaps
the most advanced international legal instrument
on indigenous rights.
Argentina is thus supporting a trend towards raising the legal status of
aboriginal peoples. In this way
it is reaffirming concepts such as "indigenous
peoples" instead of the more restricted notion of "populations" or
"communities",
and "territories" to refer to the "totality of the regional
habitat that the peoples in question occupy or use". It is also accepting
the
indigenous peoples’ rights to use, manage and preserve the natural
resources in their lands and their necessary participation
in all matters
affecting them and is assuming responsibility for developing, with their input,
co-ordinated and systematic action
aimed at protecting their rights and
guaranteeing respect for their integrity.

161. As has been said in previous reports, the activities of INAI were
decentralized by Decree No. 677 and the Institute was incorporated
into the
then Secretariat for Social Development, now the Ministry of Social Development
and the Environment. Before that was done,
INAI had been part of a programme
for vulnerable groups within the area of Social Policies of the Secretariat for
Social Development
of the Presidency of the Nation. At present, approval of the
new administrative structure of INAI by the Executive Office of the
Cabinet of
Ministers and the Ministry of the Economy is pending. Once that occurs, the
National Institute of Indigenous Affairs
will have the status of a Secretariat
of State.

162. Progress concerning the particular rights pertaining to indigenous
peoples and the higher administrative status given to the
specific body charged
with implementing State policy on indigenous peoples are, moreover, an
expression of the national desire to
right wrongs through legislation that would
seek to achieve, at one and the same time, equality of rights and opportunities
for that
sector of the population that suffered discrimination in the past and
the respect that their identity and cultural integrity merit
in the context of
the ethnic diversity of the country. In February 2003, indigenous leaders
formed what is called the Executive
Committee of Argentine Indigenous Peoples to
elaborate the necessary procedures for setting up the Co-odinating Council of
Argentine
Indigenous Peoples, which is the body envisaged in Act No. 23,302
to represent indigenous peoples.

Development Project for Indigenous Communities

163. November 2002 saw the beginning of the Development Project for
Indigenous Communities (DCI) (Loan for Apprenticeship and Innovation,
BIRF
4580-AR), which will extend over a period of three years. The total amount for
this is $5,892,000, which includes a contribution
of $800,000 from the Argentine
Government.

164. The project is a synthesis of the development priorities for indigenous
communities. The focus is on creating Protected Indigenous
Areas (AIP). Given
that the present legal framework for creating such areas requires new
developments, negotiations and reforms
at a high level, the approach has been
modified and a more traditional indigenous development project has been designed
to support
initiatives for local development and the protection of biodiversity
in three selected indigenous areas.

165. The three pilot areas have been chosen because the indigenous
communities living in them have obtained collective title to their
lands or are
in the final stages of winning recognition of their ancestral rights of
ownership. They are the Mapuche communities
of Pulmarí in the province
of Neuquén; the Diaguita-Calchaquí communities of Quilmes and of
Amaicha del Valle
in the province of Tucumán; and the community of the
Kolla people of Finca Santiago in the province of Salta.

166. The project seeks to lay the foundations and create conditions for
community self-development and has as one of its focal points
the shared
management of the natural resources in their lands. The strengthening of the
communities, together with the sustainable
use of their resources, will
contribute to achieving the stipulations of the Constitution regarding
indigenous peoples and communities, while at the same time guaranteeing for the
whole of society appropriate conditions
for biodiversity protection.

167. The challenge facing the project is to ensure that the development
concept promoted by the communities becomes reality. To move
ahead with these
policies, the different peoples need to promote practices that, while respecting
their diversity, provide feedback
to a legal and regulatory model framework that
would define the scope of a certain degree of functional autonomy for the
indigenous
peoples and communities where the management and exploitation of the
natural resources of their territories is concerned.

168. Achieving the objectives of the DCI project will strengthen INAI in its
efforts to improve the well-being of the indigenous peoples
by providing them
not only with legal security of landownership but also essential social services
and, wherever possible, by creating
protected indigenous areas managed jointly
by the local indigenous communities and the relevant government authorities.

169. Direct participation by the local indigenous communities in planning and
realizing sustainable development and in studying the
design and creation of
protected indigenous areas reflects a strategic choice on the part of INAI. It
is an attempt to understand
biodiversity from the standpoint of cultural and
political diversity: to recognise their rights to exist as peoples in the midst
of nature. And this stems from the centrality of nature in the indigenous world
view.

170. That is how the matter is understood by the Mapuche people which has on
many occasions expressed its relationship to nature in
the following terms:
"Mapuche society is a global social system merging all the components of
community life into a single whole. Economic life is not
a separate sphere, but
part of daily life intimately interwoven with the social, cultural and political
existence of the people." And so it considers that there is no Mapuche
development, but cultural development as a people. "Cultural" is understood not
as
a term of folklore reflecting "habits and customs" or "traditional
practices", but as referring to culture in its fullest sense,
linked to
existence with full political and territorial rights.

XX. PROTECTION OF MIGRANTS

171. Act No. 22,439 of 1981 on migrant matters has been partially
amended twice. Its latest Regulation was approved by Decree No.
1023 of
1994. The law is known as the "Videla law" having been enacted during the last
military dictatorship and its repeal is now
thought necessary.

172. There are at present several draft laws under consideration in
Parliament to modify or repeal Act No. 23,439.

General policy to combat discrimination against migrants

173. The Argentine Republic has ratified the Protocol against the Smuggling
of Migrants by Land, Air and Sea, supplementing the United
Nations Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime. That legal instrument led to the
preparation of a Regional Agreement among
the States Members of MERCOSUR and
Associated States, adopted by their Ministers of the Interior on 30 May 2002, in
order to apply
preventive measures in the region to combat that kind of traffic
and to insert provisions on that criminal activity in our laws.

174. Dealing with this matter has a direct impact on over-all policy to
combat discrimination, since generally speaking migrant smuggling
involves
individuals with a greater degree of vulnerability in view of their situation of
economic need. The result is that migrants
entering the national territory in
the manner described suffer different kinds of exploitation (in the workplace,
sexually etc.).

175. Our country is committed to guaranteeing full respect for the human
rights of migrants and their families. That is why we have
assumed the
responsibility of adopting the necessary legal measures to criminalize migrant
smuggling, as well as the unlawful activities
that make it possible or
facilitate it. All this is in conformity with paragraph 30 of the
Declaration of the third World Conference
against Racism, Racial Discrimination,
Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, which affirms "the urgent need to
prevent, combat and eliminate all forms of trafficking in persons, in particular
women and children".

176. With the Republic of Bolivia and the Republic of Peru, the Republic of
Argentina has concluded migration agreements (Acts Nos.
25,098 and 25,099),
which serve as a means of integration among the signatory countries. These
agreements apply to the nationals
of one party who wish to settle in the
territory of the other to engage in formal work as employees and who submit to
the respective
consulate an application to enter the country; and to nationals
of one party who are illegal migrants in the territory of the other,
but who
plan to legalize their status so as to engage in formal work as employees or as
self-employed and submit an application for
legalization to the relevant
migration service. In these agreements there is a section entitled "Rights of
immigrants and members
of their families" which refers to the rights and
guarantees enjoyed by migrants and their families.

177. The implementation of these agreements has, however, had negative
consequences for Bolivian and Peruvian citizens who have not
been able to meet
the requirements of the instrument because of the way the migration authorities
have acted. According to information
provided by the Office of the Ombudsman of
the City of Buenos Aires, while the agreements were in force many Bolivian and
Peruvian
nationals were ordered expelled, in clear violation of the
State’s international policy described in the previous paragraph.
Likewise, the provisions of the agreements were not interpreted in terms of the
objective of legalizing the migrant status of the
greatest number of people,
rather the interpretation was one linked to the doctrine of national security to
be found in the "Videla
law".

178. At the present time, the States members of MERCOSUR have signed an
agreement on the free circulation of persons within the purview
of the States
Parties and so it is hoped that migration authorities will conduct themselves
better in dealing with nationals from
neighbouring countries.

In a recent ruling the judiciary decided that the attitude of the National
Directorate for Migration in expelling persons who had
children and family
members in Argentina violated the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the
American Convention on Human
Rights. (Ruling in Alicia Benitez et al. v.
National Directorate for Migration, (amparo), Administrative Tribunal
No. 8, secretariat no. 15.)

179. In connection with a petition now before the Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights and over and above the contents of that
particular petition, the
Argentine Foreign Office is promoting an agreement for amicable solution by
means of a revision of the legislation
on migration at present in force.

The Foreign Office considers that, in the light of international human
rights standards, the law on migration at present in force
in our country
requires prompt modification. Among other things it should incorporate
provisions to ensure unrestricted respect for
the safeguards of the right to a
fair trial, in particular in the context of the necessary procedures for an
expulsion from the national
territory, and for the rules that guarantee
non-discrimination.

It is considered very important when that is done to tackle not only formal
trial-related matters, but also certain requirements
involving monetary
disbursements that present insurmountable obstacles for needy immigrants

At the 118th regular session of the Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights, held in Washington D.C. in October 2003, the Argentine delegation
took part in hearings and working meetings on cases and petitions before the
Commission.

The Argentine Foreign Office has also begun the necessary procedures for the
adoption and ratification of the International Convention
on the Protection of
the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, adopted by the
United Nations General Assembly
on 18 December 1990. It does this on the
understanding that that action will not only contribute to raising our present
standards
to international levels but will also mean the endorsement of the
Argentine Government’s policy of firm commitment to human
rights,
particularly those of highly vulnerable sectors such as migrants and their
family members.

XXI. PROTECTION OF REFUGEES

180. Surveys done by UNHCR suggest the presence of a refugee population of
2,431 persons in September 2002, though there are no official
figures.
Likewise, there are some 1,500 asylum-seekers whose cases are as yet unresolved
and who are therefore entitled to all the
rights and guarantees pertaining to
recognised refugees.

181. As concerns applications for asylum in 2002, official figures indicate
that 360 applications were received from persons from
23 different countries,
mainly in Latin America, Africa and Asia. In the same year, 77 persons
voluntarily gave up applying and
174 persons failed to renew their temporary
documentation.

182. Although there have been internal population displacements, they have
occurred for economic reasons and not because of armed
conflict.

Refugee rights

183. In accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 34 to 36 of the
Programme of Action of the third World Conference against Racism,
Racial
Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (Durban, 2001), in Argentina
both refugees and asylum-seekers enjoy identical
treatment to that of nationals
with regard to freedom to practise their religion and to give religious
instruction to their children.
Refugees have the right to free access to law
courts; the right to obtain employment, to receive free primary education, to
pursue
secondary and higher education, to receive medical assistance in public
hospitals and health centres, to move around freely throughout
the national
territory, to receive identity papers and, if they lack those, travel documents.
Refugees also have the right to acquire
movable and immovable property, as well
as other related rights.

184. As the formalities for recognition of their status begin, asylum-seekers
receive an official document of "unconfirmed residence"
issued by the
Secretariat of the Refugee Eligibility Committee (CEPARE). Once their status
has been recognised, they are given papers
similar to those of foreigners
residing legally in the country. After three years, at their request and if
they fulfil the legal
requirements, they may obtain permanent residency.

185. The rights described are protected under the law by virtue of the
application of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of
Refugees and the
1967 Protocol, international instruments which, under the terms of the
Constitution governing the hierarchy of legal provisions, take precedence over
national laws. In addition, given that in no case are refugees
accorded less
favourable treatment than foreigners in general, the rights and guarantees of
foreign citizens established in the Constitution are theirs also.

Detentions

186. No one can be detained in Argentina just because he or she is a refugee
or asylum-seeker. Where a request for the extradition
of a person recognised by
the Government of Argentina as a refugee is made by the country of origin of
that person, the request is
rejected without further ado by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs.

187. If the person being sought is an asylum-seeker, there can be no
extradition proceedings until a decision has been taken on the
application for
refugee status. In such a case the Refugee Eligibility Committee gives priority
to that decision. If the applicant
is accorded refugee status, the request for
extradition is rejected and if he had been detained under an international
arrest warrant,
he is immediately released.

Residence and citizenship

188. In 2002, permanent residence was granted to 24 refugee applicants and an
extension of temporary residence to another 47. Argentine
citizenship is
granted by judicial action and the beneficiaries are not obliged to inform the
Eligibility Committee about it.

Assistance

189. The Argentine State offers all refugees and asylum-seekers free public
health care and first aid, on the same terms as its nationals.
It also offers
free primary education to all refugees and asylum-seekers of school age and to
those adults who request it. Likewise,
it guarantees to provide temporary
documents to asylum-seekers and permanent papers to recognised refugees.

190. Civil society plays an essential role in providing assistance to
refugees and asylum-seekers. In 2002, refugee aid organizations
such as the
Catholic Commission for Migration and CAREF gave assistance with housing, food,
clothing, Spanish-language teaching,
vocational training, loans for small
business ventures, psychological help, employment training, sports etc.

Determination of refugee status

191. Decisions on according refugee status go through the Refugee Eligibility
Committee (CEPARE), an interministerial body set up
by National Executive Decree
No. 464/85. It is made up of units from the National Directorate for
Migration, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and the Regional Office of UNHCR,
this last without a vote.

192. The eligibility procedure has several stages, beginning with personal
interviews and replies to questionnaires written by the
CEPARE secretariat, the
granting of temporary papers to the applicants and a preliminary assessment by
the eligibility officer and
the secretariat and ending with the presentation of
the case to the plenary Committee, which makes its decision on the basis of
established
resolutions.

193. CEPARE decisions are subject to administrative appeal before the
Ministry of the Interior, following prior ruling by the Human
Rights Secretariat
of the Ministry of Justice, Security and Human Rights. Finally, like any
administrative decision, this can be
reviewed by a judicial instance.

194. In 2002, important changes took place in the eligibility procedure. So
as to improve the mechanisms for studying applications
and to reduce the time
needed for the consideration of cases, the Government signed on to a programme
of co-operation with UNHCR.
Under the programme the Secretariat was reinforced
by the recruitment of additional staff, the training of staff officers and the
creation of a new data base.

195. The programme also proposed a new procedure with changes to the
eligibility forms, a more thorough analysis of the objective
situation and
greater use of personal interviews. After a probationary period, the proposed
changes were approved by CEPARE and
have now been made. The changes aim to
provide more material for analysis by the Committee and to reduce the time
required to reach
a decision. The first stage of the programme was completed in
March 2003 and a three-month extension was approved, ending in July
of that
year.

Cases decided in 2002

196. In 2002, CEPARE granted refugee status to 78 persons. In the same
period 523 applications were rejected. By reason of the established
time-frame
either for the appeals procedure or for the regularization of a migrant’s
situation, asylum-seekers whose applications
were rejected in 2002 would not
have been compelled to leave the country in the course of that year.

Significant events in 2002

197. The considerable increase in applications for asylum observed from 1998
onwards meant that the average number of cases per year
quadrupled over two
years, creating a bottleneck that seriously hampered the work of the Committee
and its secretariat. The following
table illustrates the situation:

Applications for asylum:

1997: 322 cases

1998: 602 cases

1999: 1,456 cases

2000: 1,320 cases

2001: 861 cases

Cases decided by CEPARE:

Recognised Rejected

1997: 145 47

1998: 102 121

1999: 119 483

2000: 82 97

2001: 64 446

2002: 78 523

198. The situation created by the unusual increase in applications recorded
between 1998 and 2001 explains the difficulties the Committee
had to face in
evaluating and resolving cases and the consequent delay in processing them. In
2002, the Government’s efforts
to deal with the situation and the
launching of the programme of co-operation with UNHCR have made it possible to
increase the CEPARE
secretariat’s capacity to assess cases, thus
considerably reducing the number of cases awaiting decision.

199. In addition, the foundations have been laid for improved mechanisms and
a sustainable reduction in the time taken to determine
the eligibility of
asylum-seekers. This, together with the decline in the number of applications
in 2002, leads one to expect a
substantial narrowing of the gap between pending
and resolved cases in the course of 2003.

XXII. PROTECTION OF WOMEN

200. The National Women’s Council, which since 1999 has been part of
the Executive Office of the Cabinet of Ministers, is the
authority entrusted
with the promotion and protection of the rights of women. Among its objectives,
pursuant to the provisions of
paragraph 69 of the Declaration of the third
World Conference against Racism (Durban, 2001), is that of promoting public
policies
with a gender perspective which can help to overcome the various forms
of discrimination against women and encourage appropriate
social conditions for
guaranteeing women the effective exercise of their rights.

201. The Council intervenes in the manner indicated in the following
areas:

b) Education: to analyse stereotyped and discriminatory
attitudes and behaviour in schools and other educational institutions;

c) Justice: to guarantee women access to justice and
co-ordinate measures to ensure that public bodies discharge their responsibility
to eradicate
violence against women;

d) Human rights: to ensure the widespread application and
promotion of fundamental human rights, guarantee access to information and
encourage women’s
full and equal participation in the country’s
political, social, economic and cultural life;

e) Work: to incorporate the gender perspective in labour
policy at the national and provincial levels and take action to regulate
domestic
employment.

202. During the year 2000, the National Women’s Council completely
redesigned the Federal Programme for Women with the aim of
acting to give effect
to equality of opportunities for men and women as an indispensable condition for
the achievement of social
equity. Thus detailed work was done to plan the
activities under the Institutional Strengthening Component, laying special
emphasis
on reinforcing the Provincial Women’s Offices.

203. Furthermore, the increasing demand from the public for individual help
with various social problems generated a need for a counselling,
referral and
monitoring service providing direct assistance at the grass-roots level. The
Council set up such a service in 2000 and
created the corresponding technical
team. The first task was to gather the information needed for the construction
of a data base
on the services to which women could be referred for assistance.
A telephone advice line was set up at the same time.

204. Systematic training was introduced for the staff to enable them to
provide an efficient service and a team of professionals was
formed to
specialize in problems of violence and gender. Technical and psychological
support was also provided for the members of
the team in order to enhance their
performance.

205. A total of 1,300 interviews had been conducted by August 2001. The
Federal Capital accounted for 53 per cent of this total,
the province of Buenos
Aires for 44 per cent and the other provinces for three per cent. A breakdown
of the figures by sex showed
that 85 per cent of the applicants were female and
4 per cent were male; the remaining 11 per cent were institutions.

206. The percentage breakdown by reason for application was as follows:

Legal

45.58%

Violence

22.05%

Sexual abuse

0.04%

Sexual harassment

0.13%

Employment

18.40%

Health

0.50%

Benefits

0.80%

Housing

0.30%

Information

11.90%

Training

0.30%

207. The number of interviews by age were as follows:

Under 20

26

21 to 35

220

36 to 50

217

51 to 65

73

66 and older

11

XXIII. PROTECTION OF THE DISABLED

208. The problems of discrimination are taken carefully into account in all
areas of government policy, although, among vulnerable
groups, persons with
different capacities are those who have suffered least from flagrant acts of
that nature. As a result, few
cases are brought to court in which the victim of
acts of discrimination is a disabled person. That is corroborated by INADI,
which
is the body that, together with the National Advisory Committee for the
Integration of the Disabled (CONADIS), prepares general policy
to combat
discrimination of that kind.

209. By way of illustration, one should point out that CONADIS, although only
empowered to urge and recommend to the person committing
an act of
discrimination that he desist, while also advising referral of the matter to the
competent body, plays an important and
leading role in fostering compliance with
antidiscriminatory norms. Among its activities in 2001, CONADIS implemented a
plan of
action continuing into 2002 and containing measures to prevent acts of
discrimination; to protect people against discrimination;
and to combat
prejudice by promoting understanding and solidarity. A highlight of the plan is
its inclusion of the concept of
"litigation without cost" as a benefit accorded
to all disabled persons taking legal action in relation to their disability,
whether
as plaintiffs or defendants.

210. Part of the above-mentioned plan of action is the study, analysis and
implementation of a change to the Taxes on Profits Act
to take account of the
situation of disabled persons. Further, in the context of the plan a project
was to be carried out providing
for the intervention of CONADIS to be required
in all cases where the thema dissidendum was disability-linked, whether
in order to create rights for or to limit the rights of those who, as plaintiffs
or defendants, were
involved in a lawsuit.

211. In compliance with the provisions of paragraph 57 of the Programme
of Action of the Durban World Conference, which "urges States
... and encourages
non-governmental organizations and the private sector to address the situation
of persons with disabilities",
the Human Rights Secretariat of the Ministry of
Justice and Human Rights sponsored the formation of a working committee to
prepare
a preliminary draft of regulations for Act No. 25,280, which
approved the Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of
Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities. The Working Committee was set
up by resolution no. 192 of the Ministry of Justice
and Human Rights, dated
8 April 2002.

212. The members of the Committee were both government institutions with
competence regarding disability and organizations of civil
society, namely: the
Human Rights Secretariat of the Ministry of Justice, Security and Human Rights,
CONADIS, the Human Rights Department
of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, INADI,
the National Council for Children, Adolescents and the Family, the General Audit
Office,
the Unit for Disabled Persons and Vulnerable Groups of the Ministry of
Labour, the Disabled Institute of the General Confederation
of Labour, the
Department for the Disabled of the Argentine Workers’ Union (CTA), the
Secretariat for the Disabled of AMIA
and the Permanent Forum for the Advancement
of Persons with Disabilities (Foro Pro). Also co-operating in the work of the
Committee
were various NGOs in the field of disability, such as the civil
association ZOE, whose members are of under average height.

213. The Committee concluded its work on 3 December 2002. The draft
regulations were submitted on that occasion. Among the proposals
contained in
the draft was the creation, within CONADIS, of a committee to oversee compliance
with the Inter-American Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities. That committee would be made
up of public bodies
and NGOs in the field of disability and of human rights. It
would have autonomy in working towards its goals and would be supported
by
CONADIS and the relevant government departments. In its conclusions the Working
Committee presented proposals for legislation
in those areas where it had noted
an absence of provisions concerning disability. It is important to highlight
the initiative that
created this Working Committee, since it fostered an open
dialogue between state officials and civil society about the regulations
for a
regional human rights instrument, something that had not happened in the country
before.

214. Later, in May 2003, with the valuable experience of the Working
Committee as inspiration, an agreement was signed to set up a
committee to
assess the follow-up to the Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Persons
with Disabilities.

The agreement was signed by four NGOs: the CTA, AMIA, Foro Pro and the
Archbishopric of Buenos Aires. Various public bodies and
other NGOs with
competence in the area of disability and human rights were invited to
participate, namely: CONADIS, the Human Rights
Secretariat of the Ministry of
Justice, Security and Human Rights, INADI, the General Audit Office, the
National Council for Children,
Adolescents and the Family and the national
Ombudsman.

The agreement took as a precedent the Working Committee set up by a
resolution of the Ministry of Justice, Security and Human Rights
and described
above.

The work of this Follow-up Assessment Committee will be to do everything
possible to ensure implementation of the provisions of the
Convention and to
publicize its text, the reports the Committee drafts and the actions it
promotes, as well as to co-operate with
the public bodies with primary
competence in the promotion of human rights for the disabled.

When the agreement was signed, stress was laid on the importance of
encouraging co-operation between NGOs and public bodies in the
analysis and
assessment of compliance with the international human rights conventions adopted
in current national legislation.

Finally, in connection with the actions to be undertaken by the Follow-up
Assessment Committee, the NGOs that founded the Committee
together with various
government bodies invited for the purpose prepared a preliminary report on the
situation of persons with disabilities
in Argentina, which was submitted to the
national Government for its consideration on 23 September 2003 at a ceremony
attended by
a wide range of organizations from civil society and of government
officials.

215. Another entity, the Secretariat for Human Development and the Family of
the Ministry of Social Development and the Environment,
has taken action to
eliminate discriminatory barriers, through, for example, the following
programmes:

– Programme for the Integration of Disabled Persons. The aim is to
promote the social integration of disabled persons, calling
on the different
sectors of the community to participate in the process by having the
organizations of each municipality associate
in planning and carrying out
activities. These are geared to the integration of disabled persons through
their active participation,
thereby providing the community with the means to
dispel myths, get rid of prejudices and prevent discrimination against the
disabled
and leaving the organizations already equipped for the task.

– Programme of Institutional Assistance for Disabled Persons. The aim
is to have both governmental and non-governmental institutions
working in this
field train people in the community to assist the social integration of disabled
persons, and to create family and
community links.

– Protection of Disabled Persons. Within the Under-Secretariat for the
Elderly of the Ministry of Social Development and the
Environment the creation
of a Federal Council of the Elderly has been proposed. This is in obedience to
current thinking concerning
negative discrimination which recommends having
elderly people intervene in the decision-making that concerns them.

216. Despite what has been said, there are certain regulations in force in
Argentina that restrict access to social benefits by reason
of the
individual’s migrant status, as also the number of years’ residence
in the country. In most cases proof is required
that the formalities for
permanent settlement have been completed or that the person has resided in
Argentina for 20 years. Some
local legislations guarantee access to social
services regardless of migrant status (Act No. 664 of the City of Buenos
Aires Legislature)
and in other cases the courts have decided to extend state
social benefits to foreigners whatever the length of their residence in
Argentina.

ARTICLE 5 (C)

XXIV. POLITICAL RIGHTS

217. Article 37 of the Constitution stipulates that: "Suffrage shall be
universal, equal, secret and compulsory. Real equality of opportunity for men
and women to
accede to elective or party office shall be guaranteed by means of
positive actions in the regulation of political parties and the
electoral
system."

218. Here the Constituent Congress provided for a specific application of the
principle of equality enshrined in article 16 of the
Constitution by reason
of sex and allowed the Congress to apply the principle of "positive
discrimination" to guarantee equality of opportunity
and treatment for men and
women where access to elective and party political office is concerned. The
positive discrimination consists
of actions to create a differential situation
for the group that has suffered negative discrimination and is aimed at
combating such
negative acts. An example is the law on the "women’s
quota", which gives a privilege to women by reserving at least 30 per
cent of
elective posts for them.

219. As was stated in Argentina’s fifteenth periodic report, pursuant
to article 1 of Decree No. 2135 of 18 August 1983, approving
the
amended text of the National Electoral Code (Act No. 19,945 as amended by
Acts Nos. 20,175, 22,838 and 22,864), citizens of either
sex may vote
provided that they are nationals by birth or by naturalization, over 18 years of
age and free of any of the disqualifications
listed in the Decree.

220. Article 2 specifies who shall be excluded from the electoral roll. With
regard to detainees and prisoners, subparagraphs d)
to k) stipulate the length
of time during which they are ineligible to vote. A repeal of these provisions
is currently under study,
at the request of the Government Procurator for the
Prison System.

221. With regard to the requirements for participating in government,
article 48 of the Constitution provides that "to be a deputy it is
necessary to have reached the age of 25 years, to have been a fully qualified
citizen for four years and to be
a native of the province that elects the deputy
or to have had two years’ residence therein immediately prior to the
election".

222. Article 55 of the Constitution gives the requirements for election to
the Senate, namely, to have reached the age of 30 years, to have been a citizen
of the Nation
for six years and to be a native of the province that elects the
senator or to have had two years’ residence therein immediately
prior to
the election.

223. To be elected President or Vice-President of the Nation one must have
been born in Argentine territory or, if born in a foreign
country, one must be
the child of a native citizen, as well as possessing the other qualifications
for election as a senator (article
89 of the Constitution). As has already
been said, since the 1994 constitutional revision, belonging to the Roman
Catholic and Apostolic religion is no
longer a requirement for being President
of the Republic, as it was in the 1853 Constitution.

224. Where policies to counter discrimination against women in the exercise
of their political rights are concerned, on 28 December
2000 Decree
No. 1246 was issued regulating the Women’s Quota Act No. 24,012,
adopted in 1991, and replacing Decree No. 379/93.
This new regulatory
decree guarantees the effective application of the Act and establishes general
criteria for its uniform implementation
by political parties and electoral
tribunals. It clarifies and guarantees once and for all that female candidates
have access to
the lists and are placed on them and permits their genuine and
fair inclusion in accordance with the minimum quota required by the
Act and with
the provisions of the Constitution (art. 37). The Decree was part of the
amicable solution proposed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights when
it declared
admissible case no. 11,307 – Maria Merciadri de
Morini – and was based on respect for the rights contained in the
American Convention on Human Rights.

225. Act No. 24,012/91 and its earlier regulatory decree had provided
for a sharp increase in the numbers of women elected as national
deputies and
had had a powerful impact in the provinces, which enacted similar quota laws.
However, a number of decisions of the
National Electoral Tribunal, based on
mistaken interpretations of the spirit of the Act, established precedents that
led to the fixing
of a ceiling of about 28 per cent for women deputies from 1997
on.

226. What is more, only insignificant numbers of women were elected to the
Senate. The 1994 constitutional revision established direct
voting in elections
to the Senate from 2001. Article 1 of Regulatory Decree No. 1246/2000
states that "the scope of application
of article 60 of the National
Electoral Code replaced by Act No. 24,012 shall extend to all the elective
posts of national deputies,
senators and members of constituent assemblies".

227. All the articles of the new Decree faithfully respect the objectives of
the Act and its underlying principles and are not susceptible
of contrary
interpretations, thus removing one of the problems arising out of the earlier
Decree. Thus it establishes that the 30
per cent quota set by the Act is the
minimum and shall apply to all the candidates on a list, but shall not be deemed
filled unless
it is also applied with respect to candidates of political
parties, confederations or ad hoc alliances standing for re-election to
previously held seats.

228. The National Women’s Council was responsible for disseminating the
new Decree throughout the country to the population
at large and especially to
the leaders of political parties, public prosecutors and electoral tribunals and
to politicians. When
the time came, it monitored compliance with the quota rule
in the nation-wide lists for Senate elections and the re-election of national
deputies, maintaining direct contact with the electoral tribunals and public
prosecutors in the country’s 24 electoral districts.
It lodged eight
applications for denial of legal approval of lists in the city of Buenos Aires
and in three provinces. It succeeded
in agreeing uniform criteria for the
interpretation of the Act and the Regulatory Decree with most of the electoral
tribunals and
public prosecutors throughout the country. And it conducted a
vigorous campaign in the media to publicize the action taken.

229. In the national elections of 14 October 2001 women achieved the minimum
30 per cent of seats in the national Congress, winning
101 seats in the two
Chambers: 76 deputies and 25 senators.

230. There have also been rulings favourable to the application of the quota
rule in elections to professional associations, such
as that relating to the
Federal Capital Bar Association, case no. 10,958/2000, Marta Paz et al.
v. Public Bar Association of the Federal Capital concerning investigation
procedure, heard by the Administrative Court Judge. The action was brought by
the Ombudsman’s Office
of the City of Buenos Aires in connection with a
complaint lodged with that Office concerning the elections to the Bar
Association
of the Federal Capital. It challenged the lists submitted for
official approval on the ground that none of them met the 30 per cent
"women’s quota" requirement established by Act No. 24,012.

231. The Ombudsman, in his resolution no. 0495/00, urged the Association
to revise its election regulations concerning women’s
participation in and
eligibility for electoral lists for the Association’s internal bodies, to
bring them into line with the
current legislation. The preamble to the
resolution stated that, regardless of the applicability or otherwise of Act
No. 24,012
in its broader or narrower interpretation, the Association was
not exempted from compliance with the provisions of the Convention
on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and that, in a broad
sense, the same interpretation could be applied
to article 37 of the
National Constitution and article 36 of the Constitution of the City of
Buenos Aires.

232. In July 2001, in case no. 10,958/2000 referred to above,
Administrative Court Judge ruled as follows: "12) ... It must be made clear
that the issue in this case is to give effect to the recognised right of women
lawyers who are graduates
of the Bar Association of the Federal Capital to be
candidates in that body’s elections and to be elected. Affirmative
action,
in the form of the "women’s quota" must be taken to ensure that
women lawyers have the same real opportunities to be elected
as their male
colleagues, for they are in a disadvantaged situation ...". The ruling
granted the application and confirmed "the right of the plaintiffs and, in
general, of all women graduates of the Bar Association to a minimum quota of
30%, in accordance
with Act No. 24,012, in the lists of candidates for
election, with the possibility of being elected ...".

ARTICLE 5 (D)

XXV. OTHER CIVIL RIGHTS

Right to freedom of movement and residence within the border of the
State

233. As already stated, the right to freedom of movement within the national
territory is recognised in the national Constitution. The present law on
migration is, as has been said, in the process of being repealed and the new
legislation will guarantee a greater
degree of freedom of movement and
transit.

With regard to foreigners who have settled in the Republic, the bills to
repeal the migration law will expressly revoke the obligation
to establish
one’s domicile in a specific area of the country, thus ensuring freedom of
movement.

Right to leave any country, including one’s own, and to return to
one’s country

234. The Argentine Constitution guarantees to all the inhabitants of the
nation the right to enter, remain in, transit through and leave the territory of
Argentina,
in accordance with the laws governing the exercise of such rights.
As just mentioned, the Congress is to repeal the present law
on migration, which
was grounded in the doctrine of national security so costly for human rights in
the Latin American region and
enacted by the last military dictatorship. That
repeal will ensure greater recognition and protection of the rights of those who
enter, return to or leave Argentine territory.

Right to nationality

235. As stated in previous reports, pursuant to Act No. 346, the
following are Argentine:

a) All persons born or who may be born in the territory of the Republic,
whatever the nationality of their parents, except for the
children of foreign
ministers and diplomatic staff residing in the Republic;

b) Persons born in a foreign country whose parents are native Argentines and
who opt for the citizenship of their origin;

c) Children born in legations or on warships of the Republic;

d) Children born in neutral maritime territory under the Argentine flag;

e) Nationality is acquired independently of matrimonial or extra-matrimonial
filiation and of the person’s sex. It is therefore
clear that under the
legislation in force, men and women enjoy the right to nationality on equal
terms.

236. The regulations of the above-mentioned Act stipulate that the children
of a native-born father or mother shall have citizenship
upon request simply by
producing evidence of that fact. In the case of children under 18 years of age,
whose father or mother is
a native Argentine, and who are not recognised as
nationals of the State in which they were born, or who for any other reason are
stateless, Argentine citizenship may be requested for them by the person
exercising parental authority, provided they produce evidence
that the child
meets the above conditions. This amendment was introduced by Decree
No. 231/95 of 2 August 1995, which in addition
allows the procedure to take
place in Argentine consular offices, without the need to resort to the Federal
Judiciary.

The following progress in respect of the enjoyment of the right to
nationality should be stressed:

a) The current Argentine legal system makes no provision for the loss or
cancellation of Argentine nationality. Pursuant to Act No.
23,059, Act
No. 346, as amended by Acts Nos. 16,801 and 20,835, is re-established
as the law in force and all other amendments, including
those in Act
No. 21,795 on the cancellation and loss of nationality, are repealed;

b) The provisions in article 3 of the above-mentioned Act "declare
invalid and without legal effect the losses and cancellations of
Argentine
nationality determined pursuant to articles ... of the de facto Act
No. 21,795 and those that occurred when the de facto
Act No. 27,610
was in force", it being established in article 4 that "those affected by
these provisions shall recover their Argentine
nationality fully from the entry
into force of this Act";

237. According to current legislation, the definition of marriage is: the
giving of full and free consent to wed by a man and a woman
in the presence of
the authority entitled to conduct the ceremony. The law sets the minimum age
for marriage at 16 for women and
18 for men. If those requirements are not met,
the marriage is invalid. It follows that everyone is free to choose a spouse
and
to marry.

Right to own property alone and in association with others

238. According to article 14 of the Constitution, all inhabitants of the
Nation enjoy, inter alia, the right to use and to dispose of their property.

According to article 17, "Property is inviolable and no inhabitant
of the Nation can be deprived thereof except by virtue of a judgement founded on
law. Expropriation
for reasons of public utility must be authorized by the law
and compensated for in advance. ... All authors or inventors are the
exclusive
proprietors of their work, invention or discovery for the term granted them by
law. The confiscation of property is hereby
abolished forever in the Argentine
Criminal Code ...".

Right to inherit

239. As mentioned in earlier reports, the law on succession is contained in
the Civil Code. The main articles concerned are:

Article 3279: "Succession is the transfer of the active and
passive rights that form the legacy of a dead person to the survivor who has
been designated
by the law or by the testator to receive it. The person
designated to receive the legacy is called the heir in this Code."

Article 3288: "All natural or legal persons enjoy the ability to
inherit or to receive a legacy, unless the law forbids it."

Article 3289: "There are no legal disabilities that apply to
inheriting or receiving a legacy..."

Nor does current legislation permit differentiating between children born in
or out of wedlock where the right to inherit is concerned.
Hence it may be
inferred that in the Argentine Republic there are no legal impediments to
anyone’s ability to inherit, either
in law or by virtue of a will.

Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion

240. This right is enshrined in article 19 of the Constitution, which
reads: "For private actions that in no way offend against public order or
morality or injure a third party, men are answerable only to God;
such actions
are exempt from the authority of judges. No inhabitant of the Nation shall be
obliged to do what the law does not
command or be deprived of what it does not
prohibit."

On the question of freedom of religion, article 20 refers particularly
to foreigners and states that "they enjoy in the territory of the Nation all
the civil rights of citizens; they may ... freely practise their religion
...".

There are also other provisions supporting the freedom of religion that all
inhabitants of the Republic enjoy, for example paragraph
66 of the
Declaration of the World Conference against Racism, held in Durban in September
2001, which affirms that the "religious identity of minorities, where they
exist, must be protected and that persons belonging to such minorities should be
treated
equally and enjoy their human rights and fundamental freedoms without
discrimination of any kind".

In the Secretariat for Worship within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
International Trade and Worship a national register of religions
is kept in
which are recorded the religious bodies or organizations whose activities are
permitted within the national jurisdiction.

As noted earlier, since the 1994 revision of the Constitution it is no
longer necessary to be a member of the Roman Catholic Church to be President of
the Republic as it was under the 1853/1860
Constitution. Moreover, the members
of religious communities of a certain size in the country enjoy paid religious
holidays. This is the case
for members of the Jewish community who, under Act
No. 24,571, are entitled to paid holidays to mark the main Jewish feasts
–
the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)
and Passover (Pesach) – and for members of the Muslim
community, under Act
No. 24,757 àf 28 November 1996, which declares as non-working days
for all inhabitants followers of Islam
the Muslim New Year (the Hegira), the day
marking the end of the Ramadan fast (Id al-Fitr) and the Feast of Immolation (Id
al-Adha).

In April 2001, the Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, Mr.
Abdelfattah Amor, visited the Republic of Argentina. In several
paragraphs of the report he wrote after his visit and submitted to the
Commission on Human Rights at its 58th session, the Rapporteur
acknowledges and praises the measures adopted by Argentina to promote and
protect human rights and, in general
terms, gives a positive assessment of the
freedom of religion or belief that exists in our country, both in law and in
practice.
He says, inter alia, that "federal and provincial constitutional
provisions guarantee freedom of religion and belief and freedom to manifest
religion or belief
in accordance with relevant international law".

Concerning the constitutional provisions on State support for the Catholic
Church, the Special Rapporteur says that "this special link between the State
and a specific religion is not intrinsically at variance with human rights"
... "Argentina is a pacemaker in human rights" ... "the State’s policy
generally embodies respect for freedom of religion or belief ...". He also
notes that "All the religious communities consulted by the Special Rapporteur
... agreed that the situation was satisfactory regarding freedom
of religion and
freedom to manifest religion, which can be fully exercised in Argentina, free of
any State interference". "Minorities which are not originally from
Argentina ... stated that their identity, their specificities and their
religious traditions
could not only be preserved, but could flourish in
Argentina."

In paragraph 54 of the same report the authorities of the Republic are
quoted as saying that "Argentina continues to be an example of religious
co-existence" and in paragraph 136, the Rapporteur says that "the
declaration of non-aggression signed by representatives of the Christian- and
Muslim-Arab community and the Jewish community under
the auspices of INADI ...
can undoubtedly serve as an example at the international level in conflict
management and prevention". Finally, he adds that "Over-all, the Special
Rapporteur considers that Argentine legislation furnishes solid constitutional
foundations and important legal
guidelines to guarantee freedom of religion and
belief" (paragraph 128).

Right to freedom of opinion and expression

241. The right to freedom of opinion and expression is to be found in
article 14 of the Constitution: "All inhabitants of the Nation enjoy
the following rights, in accordance with the laws that govern their exercise,
namely ... to publish
their ideas in the press without prior censorship
...".

242. Since its return to a democratic system of government on 10 December
1983, Argentina has begun a long process of restoring the
institutions and
fundamental rights of its citizens. After decades when the rule of law was
suspended, during which individual freedoms
were systematically violated,
Argentina has advanced confidently in the consolidation of human rights, among
them freedom of expression,
a essential pillar of any democratic regime.

243. Once the rule of law was re-established, the country reviewed the laws
and the history of its tragic past. It was no simple
task: the obstacles to
turning the page on an age of missed opportunities were huge, but the work of
democratic forces succeeded
in imposing reason, the reason that gives us law and
justice. As the democratic system – now in force in Argentina –
grew stronger, it was possible to restore freedom of expression to full effect.
So at last there was an end to the period of persecution
for one’s ideas,
for one’s thoughts and their expression in public and now the debate on
freedom of expression can hardly
begin without praise for the recovery of that
right.

244. In June and July of 2001, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations
Human Rights Commission on freedom of opinion and expression,
Mr. Abid
Hussain, visited the Argentine Republic. His report on that visit was submitted
to the Commission at its 58th session.

245. On the one hand, it contains criticisms, which are sometimes beside the
specific subject of freedom of opinion and expression.
On the other, it
emphasises the high degree to which human rights are observed in our country.
In particular, it recognises that
the rights of opinion and expression are
widely respected and exercised in Argentina. Mr. Hussain also stresses
Argentina’s
commitment to human rights in both the inter-American and the
international context. After a survey of history that serves as background
for
the report, the document gives figures and details about the press, describes
the present situation in radio and television and
highlights the national policy
of giving broad freedom to opinion and expression, even mentioning, by way of
example, the positive
case of the absolute freedom accorded the series by the
humourist NIK.

246. He also mentions the adoption by the National Congress of Act
No. 25,326 on "habeas data", which protects the rights of those
whose
personal data are held in data banks and defines what is a crime in this regard,
so that, where appropriate, the person concerned
can institute criminal
proceedings against anyone infringing his rights.

247. Further, in relation to the specific area of the media, the State has
guaranteed and continues to guarantee the broadest and
fullest exercise of
freedom of expression. Here one should mention that, in view of the
proliferation of FM radio stations, which
have sprung up to meet the information
needs of the different communities, the State, in an effort to bring into the
legal system
those stations that set up transmitters and broadcast on the
fringes of the law, has granted them temporary licences to allow them
to
continue to function.

248. With the aim of definitively regulating the question of FM radio
stations, a Standardized Regime for FM Radio Stations has been
put in place to
allot the greatest possible number of licences according to the available
frequencies in each region of the country.
This means that any individual or
legal entity needing a means of communication for the free expression of their
ideas can, if they
comply with the relevant technical, administrative and
regulatory terms and conditions, obtain a licence.

249. Nevertheless, there is still some serious and forceful work of education
and conscience-raising to be done among provincial civil
servants in several
provinces where international human rights law has not yet been fully
assimilated and the jurisprudence does
not take the right of free expression and
opinion sufficiently into account.

Right to freedom of assembly

250. The right to freedom of peaceful assembly is amply guaranteed in
Argentina. This can be seen from current legislation governing
the formation of
trade unions and political parties and the right to strike.

ARTICLE 5 (E)

XXVI. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS

251. One general measure adopted by the Argentine Republic to deal with the
present crisis that deserves mention by way of introduction
is the
implementation of the Heads of Household Plan. Its purpose is to give economic
assistance to the beneficiaries in order to
guarantee the right of families to
be part of society and therefore ensure that their children attend school and
they receive health
care. It also aims to encourage the participation of
unemployed heads of household in formal education or training courses that
may
assist their future return to the labour force, preferably to work in productive
projects or community services that have a measurable
effect on employment.

252. The subsidies ($150 per head of household) can serve as part of the
agreed salary paid by those employers who take part in the
Programme. It is
planned that 5 per cent of the taxes on exports of food and agricultural
products and petrol derivatives, estimated
at $3,000,000,000 annually, will fund
the Programme. This is the most significant transfer of income to the most
vulnerable sectors
of society in the last 50 years of Argentina’s history.
The Programme is monitored and managed by a Board made up of three
members of
government and 12 representatives of civil society.

253. The execution of the Programme began early in 2002 with an approximate
total of 100,000 beneficiaries; by the month of September
2,007,570
beneficiaries had been registered. At that time the Programme was reaching 5.5
per cent of the total population and 19.5
per cent of households in the
Republic. It has to be admitted that there were many problems with the
Programme’s implementation,
both with the way the assistance was planned
and the way it was carried out. For example, those persons who had no national
identity
document could not receive help, even if they were persons who had
begun the procedure for migrant status; Argentines who could
not afford the
cost of obtaining a new document or foreigners were likewise excluded. The
absence of any benefit distribution monitoring
and the lack of means of appeal
against unjustified rejections also undermined the assistance provided.

254. Here follows information on the exercise of economic, social and
cultural rights by the different vulnerable groups.

XXVII. RIGHT TO WORK

255. In relation to the unemployment rate registered in Argentina, the
provision of monthly benefits by the Employment Programmes
was constant over the
last three years (1999-2001) at a level of 100,000 beneficiaries per month.

256. From 2002 on, with the execution of the above-mentioned Heads of
Household Plan, the evolution of monthly benefit payments has
been significantly
upwards, reaching its peak so far in the month of September with 2,007,570
beneficiaries under the Heads of Household
Plan and 35,669 under the other
employment programmes.

Situation of women in the labour market

257. In recent decades profound structural changes have taken place as a
result of the internationalization of social and economic
relations. A great
expansion of the female labour force can be observed, there has been a
considerable increase in the numbers of
women entering the labour market in
recent decades and their presence is growing more permanent, whether by personal
choice or through
economic pressure. This increase is confirmed by the activity
rate for women recorded in 2001: in 1990 the rate was 27.4 (an
average of the
two annual phases of the Permanent Household Survey), whereas in 2001 it had
reached 33.2.

258. On the question of women’s integration into the labour market one
should point out that:

a) There is more employment. Women’s employment rate has increased, as
has their share of the total work force. The employment
rate for women went
from 25.3 per cent in 1990 to 27.6 per cent in 2001;

b) Women are assuming key roles in the process of economic and social
development and in the maintenance of their own households;

c) Women have higher levels of education and training than men;

d) The rate of school attendance is higher for women than men. In the main
urban areas, for the age group 15-17 years it is 78.6
for males and 84.6 for
females and for the age group 18-24 years it is 41.5 and 48.6 respectively.

259. However, although women’s increased participation in the labour
market has been accompanied by an increase in their level
of education, their
entry into the labour market has not been taking place on equal terms with men,
for women encounter a number
of disadvantages when they try to enter the market
which make it difficult for them to find and keep jobs.

260. As a result of cultural patterns that assign certain roles to men and to
women in society, women who work or wish to work are
faced with the twofold
responsibility of home and job which causes conflicts in their personal and
professional development.

261. This means that they have to try to reconcile their domestic
responsibilities with their jobs, which has a negative impact on
their
availability for work or vocational training. Furthermore, on the demand side,
employers exhibit a range of prejudices against
working women which obstruct
their access to jobs. This attitude derives from the supposed impact on labour
costs of the biological
function of maternity and of family
responsibilities.

262. Women’s situation of disadvantage vis-à-vis men is
demonstrated by an analysis of some features of the female labour market. One
is extreme horizontal segmentation, which concentrates
women in a small range of
jobs defined in cultural terms as being "women’s work". Women work as
teachers, nurses, secretaries,
typists, office clerks, shop assistants,
hairdressers and the like.

263. Women are over-represented in service-sector jobs requiring few
qualifications, and here domestic service predominates, accounting
for 18 per
cent of total female employment.

264. At the same time the labour market suffers from high vertical
segmentation, with women concentrated low on the ladder in each
type of work,
which means that their jobs are worse paid and less stable. This is
particularly true of the private sector.

265. There is a wage gap between men and women. The income received by women
during their working lives is lower than that of men,
on average about 30 per
cent less. This is due to the concentration of women in the low and
middle-income job groups, while men
are found mainly in the middle and high
groups.

266. Over the decade women have had higher rates of unemployment than men.
The data for May 2001 show a less striking difference
than in earlier years (in
1995 it was nearly 5 points).

Prepared by: Social Programme Information, Monitoring and Assessment
System (SIEMPRO), Ministry of Social Development and the Environment.

267. Confirming a structural tendency, the latest available data show very
few women employers and bosses: while 4.3 per cent of
men are represented in
this category, only 2.3 per cent of women are. In contrast, in the category
"unsalaried worker" there are
nearly three times as many women as men. In this
case also, the data for the country’s main urban area show a trend similar
to that of the totality of urban areas.

268. On the basis of the foregoing it may be concluded that the problems
facing women in the labour market are less and less related
to formal education;
they are a result of the sexual segmentation of employment, a lack of vocational
training geared to the new
models of production and the persistence of cultural
attitudes that continue to see women’s work merely as an adjunct to
men’s.

Implementation of equal opportunity and treatment policies for men and
women

269. These policies are carried out by the National Women’s Council
(CNM), which since its inception has had as one of its priority
focuses
reversing the particular way in which women are integrated into the labour
force. The following objectives have been proposed:

a) Designing employment and work training programmes and projects to be
implemented in the different government departments and areas
of the country,
with the aim of incorporating equality of opportunity and treatment for men and
women into the world of production
and labour;

d) Sensitizing the whole of society and those sectors of it concerned with
labour relations to the question of gender equity;

e) Highlighting the situation of women and the economic contribution they
make to the world of work and production;

f) Promoting appropriate legislation and ensuring compliance with that
already in force.

Concrete actions

– In the year 2000, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Training of
Human Resources developed the Emergency Jobs Programme (PEL),
CommunityDevelopment. The CNM took an active part in
this programme and carried out some on-going tasks in connection with: the
dissemination of the
programme among those of both sexes submitting projects;
co-ordination with employment and occupational training managers of both
sexes
throughout the country and with the Provincial and Municipal Women’s
Offices and NGOs, so as to involve them in the programme’s
provincial
units; technical assistance for public entities and NGOs in formulating
projects; and the design of a training programme
"to develop personal,
commercial and/or social aptitudes" aimed at NGOs and government bodies
submitting projects, so as to incorporate
a gender perspective in the training
offered to beneficiaries.

– Emergency Jobs Programme (PEL), Productive
Employment. This was a programme to encourage productive
employment, whose aim was to offer temporary jobs and occupational training for
unemployed
workers of both sexes through the execution of projects to create
productive employment directly and/or to support its creation,
in urban or rural
areas.

– Continuing with the planned course of action, in 2000 a national
report was prepared on the subject of "Women and Work" for
the Institutional
Strengthening Component of the Federal Programme for Women (project BID
OC-AR/1133). A system of gender gap indicators
was also elaborated to monitor
the situation of women in Argentina, among which were indicators relating to
women and the labour
market.

– A study was begun entitled "Gender equity and quality in employment.
Argentina’s health sector workers" with technical
and financial assistance
from ECLAC/GTZ.

– The Council took part in the Tripartite Argentine Commission on
Equality of Opportunities and Treatment between Men and Women
in the Workplace.
This Commission is the product of an initiative on the part of the Ministry of
Labour, Employment and Human Resources
Training and CNM which invites employers
and workers of both sexes to take part in a social dialogue. It was first set
up in 1998
and relaunched in 2000. It is a forum for interaction and
intersectoral collaboration to facilitate and promote concrete action
to bring
about greater equality of opportunity and treatment between men and women in the
workplace.

270. The trade-union, business and government sectors are represented on the
Commission. The three trade-union federations participate
from the trade-union
sector; from the business sector there are the Industrial Union of Argentina,
the Argentine Chamber of Commerce,
the General Economic Confederation, the
General Confederation of Industry, the General Confederation of Production, the
General Confederation
of Commerce and Services, the Co-ordination Office for
Commercial Business Activities and the Federation of Chambers of Commerce
for
SMEs; and from the government sector, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and
Human Resources Training, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, International Trade
and Worship and CNM.

271. The Framework Convention concluded between CNM and the Ministry of
Labour, Employment and Social Security, with its Additional Protocol
on the
Heads of Household Programme was signed on 8 March 2002. Some of its aims
are to create a specific forum for the two parties for the preparation of
a
programme to be executed in the course of this year; to ensure the inclusion
without exception of CNM, as a full-fledged member,
and the Provincial and
Municipal Women’s Offices in the Provincial Advisory Councils, as well as
the Council of the Executive
Office of the Government of the City of Buenos
Aires and any councils that may be set up at the municipal level; and to
support
the idea of promoting training as a means to facilitate the promotion
and integration into the labour force of women in the community.

272. The CNM has prepared training material for women heads of household for
the "development of personal and social aptitudes for integration into the
labour force", aimed at offering useful tools to help poor women in our
country to enter the labour force, in a horizontally and vertically segmented
market.

273. This constitutes a useful process of teaching and apprenticeship,
because it offers the women winning instances of their own
survival strategies.
The training process aims first to provide the tools for reflection and
sensitization and next to allow them
to build up new knowledge and acquire
competence that will lead to a change of attitudes and the reformulation of
their objectives
and projects and the kinds of work they will do. It includes
subjects related to the personal and social development of women (self-esteem),
encouragement to seek employment in non-traditional activities and the
empowerment of the women in groups and organizations. The
substance of the
training constitutes a valuable instrument for the understanding of the
relationship between gender and work.

Employment situation of the disabled

274. The Employment Act No. 24,013, in title III, chapter III on
programmes of employment for special groups of workers, states that
"the
programmes must take account of the type of work the persons can do ... They
should, inter alia, consider supporting protected
production workshops,
assisting the employment of the disabled by giving them work at home and
granting or lending stock to establish
small businesses ..." (art. 86).
Furthermore, in the interpretation and the drafting of legislation account is
taken of the provisions
of documents produced by international organizations,
such as the United Nations Department of Public Information Standard Rules
on
the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.

275. In April 1998, the Unit for Persons with Disabilities and Vulnerable
Groups was set up in the Ministry of Labour. Its purpose was to facilitate
the integration into the work force of persons with disabilities
by developing
and executing special programmes geared to improving their work opportunities
and eliminating the social influences
that hinder their integration.

276. Among other things it has been established that the employment contract
that a firm signs with a disabled person is no different
from that signed with a
person without disabilities. The rights and obligations of the parties are
those that are current in all
labour relations: they concern hours worked and
attendance, compliance with standard work practice and adjustment to guidelines
regarding safety and hygiene. Of course, the firm must fulfil its legal and
contractual commitments and those particular obligations
that have been agreed
on regarding disabled persons. Insurance contracts for accidents in the
workplace may not discriminate either
where the premium or the terms are
concerned because the worker to be insured is described as disabled. Benefit
societies are also
under obligation to offer their services.

Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security support
programmes

for disabled persons

Support Programme for the Occupational Integration of Disabled
Persons

277. The Support Programme for the Occupational Integration of Disabled
Persons UNDP ARG/98/033 facilitates the integration of disabled
persons into the
labour market.

278. The Employment Secretariat of the Ministry of Labour, Employment and
Social Security, the Co-ordinating Committee for Disabled
Persons Programmes and
the Office of the President of the Nation are the organs taking part in UNDP
project ARG/98/033. It is financed
from funds administered by the Co-ordinating
Committee for Disabled Persons Programmes.

279. The Programme is broken up into four components, whose specific
objectives are related to the creation and reinforcement of protected
workshops. The aim is to promote the integration of persons with disabilities
into both the protected and the unprotected labour
market, by means of subsidies
for the development of existing Protected Production Workshops and the creation
of new ones, so that
they may better fulfil their economic and social
purpose.

280. The beneficiaries of the Programme are:

a) Persons of both sexes of working age who have a functional disorder,
whether physical or mental, permanent or prolonged;

b) Persons whose age or social status represent considerable disadvantages
for their integration into family, society, education or
work;

c) Persons whose disability is certified by the relevant authority under the
terms of Act No. 22,431, Decree No. 498/83 and/or similar
provincial
legislation and who have the ability to work in protected production
workshops.

Work training and mediation programme for disabled persons

281. The aim of the programme is to carry out training for work among
disabled persons that will enable them to achieve equality of
opportunity and
overcome the handicaps that affect those with whom the programme is
concerned.

282. There are two stages in the training provided under this programme:

Stage I: Regional training workshops for labour mediators.

Stage II: Training courses for persons with disabilities given
by the labour mediators.

Other Ministry of Labour programmes in preparation

Programme of Adaptation to the Workplace

283. The aim of the programme is to give technical and technological
assistance to enable disabled persons to adapt to their place
of work, so that
they can achieve equality of opportunity and overcome the handicaps that affect
those with whom the programme is
concerned. The institutions, foundations,
governmental and non-governmental organizations, trade unions, associations and
private
firms that benefit directly from recruiting disabled persons who have
joined the competitive labour market will also be indirect
beneficiaries of the
programme.

284. The programme offers disabled persons in a position to enter the
competitive labour market the technical and technological assistance
to enable
them physically to manage on their own by providing various products that permit
better functional adaptation to the workplace.
In designing the programme,
three areas have been incorporated that make different contributions to the
world of work, especially
in this case in the field of disability:
rehabilitation technology (RT), research and development (R and D) and
ergonomics.

Programme of Integration Follow-up

285. The general objective of the programme is to facilitate the integration
of disabled persons into the world of work by means of
such actions as the
evaluation, orientation, placement and follow-up of the disabled person in the
workplace, so as to foster equality
of opportunity and overcome the handicaps
that make real social integration so difficult for the people with whom the
programme is
concerned. It should be said that CONADIS plays a tutelary role
whenever a disabled person’s right to work is violated, whether
because
the quota fixed by current legislation is not met or because the person is
discriminated against for being "different".

286. In regard to work and disability, CONADIS has made its contribution to
the ILO Programme of Theoretical and Practical Knowledge
and has pointed out
that the Work Contract Act, an essential instrument for worker-employer
relations, refers only to discriminatory
dismissal for reasons of sex, race or
religion, disregarding the existence of discriminatory dismissal for reasons of
disability,
and suggests it be amended.

Employment situation of migrants

287. Any foreigner who performs tasks as an employee has the right to make to
his employer any complaints that may arise out of non-compliance
by the person
providing the work with his obligations under Argentine labour law. In this way
the principle of equality before the
law contained in article 16 of our
Constitution is safeguarded.

288. As already stated, with the fundamental aim of guaranteeing legal
conditions of migration and employment, Argentina has signed
migration
agreements with the Republics of Bolivia and Peru that entered into force on 23
and 24 June 1999 respectively. Those international
instruments establish a
procedure for regularizing the situation of migrant workers of Bolivian and
Peruvian nationality living in
Argentina. On 6 November 2000, an Additional
Protocol to the Migration Convention with Bolivia was signed with the aim of
further
simplifying the procedure and reducing its costs. It is hoped that a
similar protocol can soon be signed with the Republic of Peru
and a migration
agreement in the same spirit with the Republic of Paraguay. It should be
mentioned that Bolivian and Peruvian workers
are part of the largest migrant
influxes into Argentina, together with Chilean and Paraguayan migrants.

289. The agreements just referred to include specific clauses on the
protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers and
their families, in
accordance with the provisions of the international human rights instruments
adopted by the United Nations and
the OAS.

290. In particular, the agreements establish the right of those immigrants
who have obtained their residence on the terms provided
in the legislation of
the host country to work and to engage in any lawful industry; their right to
petition the authorities and
to enter, stay in and leave the territory of their
country of origin and of the host country; their right to join associations for
useful purposes and freely to practise their religion. They also provide for
the full exercise of labour rights and equality of
treatment with national
workers: it is expressly stated that migrant workers shall enjoy in the
host country treatment no less
favourable than that given the nationals of that
country, where the application of labour laws is concerned, particularly in
regard
to remuneration, working conditions and social security.

290. The agreements explicitly recognise the right of migrant workers freely
to transfer to their country of origin their income and
personal savings, in
particular the funds needed to support their families.

291. The agreements also guarantee the fundamental right of access to
education for the children of migrant workers on a footing of
equality with the
nationals of the host country. They also stipulate that access to pre-school
establishments or to public schools
cannot be denied or limited because the
parents’ migrant situation is irregular.

292. The National Directorate for Migration has not considered the real
situation of migrant workers in Argentina. Citizens of Bolivia
and Peru have
been ordered expelled even when the agreements were in force; family and health
reasons have not been taken into account
for the urgent resolution of cases;
and high taxes have been demanded for the right of settlement under a migration
agreement in
Argentina, as the Ombudsman of the City of Buenos Aires has pointed
out in the document "State agency policies and practice in regulating
migration"
of May 2003.

Employment situation of children

294. The National Commission for the Eradication of Child Labour (CONAETI)
was established by Decree No. 719 on 25 August 2000. This
is an
interministerial and intersectoral commission presided over by the Ministry of
Labour, Employment and Social Security. Its
activity is basically aimed at
ensuring, at all levels and in all fields of intervention, the prevention and
the eradication of child
labour. For that reason, the
governmental, trade-union, business and non-governmental organizations that make
up the Commission have been
invited to set up a sub-commission to draft a
national plan on the matter.

295. The framework in which these activities are being pursued is that of the
obligations of the State under article 32 of the Convention
on the Rights
of the Child and ILO legal instruments such as Convention No. 138 (ratified
by Act No. 24,650), which states that:
"Each Member for which this
Convention is in force undertakes to pursue a national policy designed to ensure
the effective abolition
of child labour".

Report on work-related discrimination. INADI complaints centre

296. In August 2000 and August 2001, 394 complaints were addressed to INADI.
The cases are classified according to the cause of the
discrimination. Thus
complaints are grouped under six headings, according to whether the act of
discrimination was due to a prejudice
regarding the nationality, gender,
ill-health or age of the person, her pregnancy or the fact that he or she held
or expressed a
certain political opinion, or whether the act for some reason was
motivated by a policy espoused by the firm.

297. Of all the complaints recorded, 37.05 per cent (146 cases) concerned
discrimination that had occurred in the workplace with varying
degrees of
violence: there might be verbal or physical aggression, or a change of work or
a reduction of salary might be involved
and, in more serious cases, the
suspension or dismissal of the person from their job, merely because they
belonged to a given nationality
or sex, were of a certain age or suffered some
illness or were pregnant, or for some other reason that may be called political
or
ideological.

298. Of the 146 work-related cases, the greater percentage (41.09 per cent)
were connected in some way to policy decisions. The largest
number of cases
resulted from the decision of the firm to suspend someone, change his duties or
dismiss him on arbitrary grounds.
Then come the cases in which the person is
directly dismissed because he holds, expresses or allegedly supports a political
idea
that in the view of the employer runs counter to those of the management.
Such cases are found mainly in the State sector and particularly
when there is a
change of government. Finally, there are also situations of the dismissal of
employees who have been involved in
some trade-union activity.

299. The second largest number of complaints (17.2 per cent) concern cases of
discrimination in connection with a person’s ill-health.
Most of these
occur when the employer becomes aware that the person is sick. This may happen
either when that person has already
started work, leading in many cases to
dismissal; or it may be the result of a pre-recruitment examination that
reveals the presence
of an auto-immune disease. It is interesting to note that
more than half the instances are of HIV infected persons being victims
of
discrimination.

300. The third largest percentage (11.64 per cent of total work-related
cases) concern incidents, verbal aggression for example, arising
out of the
victim’s nationality.

301. Finally in this category there are those situations that have a more
indirect effect on the person’s work, where their
high-school certificates
or university degrees are not admitted to the record as valid, because they are
foreigners.

302. The fourth type of case, representing 10.95 per cent, refers to
gender-related discrimination at work. The ways in which such
discrimination
manifests itself are more varied, but mainly involve moral or work-related
harassment by a colleague.

303. The kind of cases concerned with the age of the victim of discrimination
represent 9.58 per cent. Among these, nine led to complaints
against the
Teaching Statutes which impose an age limit of 40 years for embarking on a
career as a teacher.

304. The same percentage of cases concern women who are pregnant. It is
important to recall that these reflect only the situations
about which
complaints have been addressed to INADI.

305. With regard to information about criminal offences committed for racial
motives, their investigation and punishment, the reader
is referred to the
section on article 4.

XXVIII. RIGHT TO FORM AND JOIN TRADE UNIONS

306. The Constitution of Argentina stipulates in article 14 bis
that "Work in its various forms shall enjoy the protection of the law, which
shall guarantee the worker ... free and democratic trade-union
organization
subject to no other formality than registration in a special register".

307. The Argentine legal system reaffirms this constitutional principle and
the relevant international provisions and regulates the
establishment, operation
and activities of workers’ trade unions in Act No. 23,551,
promulgated by the Executive on 14 April
1988.

308. The first section of the Act relates specifically to the protection of
trade-union freedom, embodying the constitutional principle
of "free and
democratic trade-union organization subject to no other formality than
registration in a special register" (art. 14
bis). The Act
incorporates the content of the relevant international agreements that have been
ratified, notably ILO Conventions Nos.
87, 98, 151 and 154.

309. Article 4 of the Act sets forth the right "freely and without the need
for prior authorization to form trade-union associations".
Workers have the
right to establish or found trade unions "of their own choosing" (ILO Convention
No. 87, art. 2). This implies
a twofold protection both in respect of
the State – there is no need for prior permission to exercise this freedom
to found
unions – and in respect of employers, who are required to refrain
from any interference intended to promote, impede or hinder
the free formation
of trade-union bodies.

310. Because of the special nature of trade unions, the freedom to establish
them is subject to regulation by the law, provided it
does not impair this
guarantee (ILO Convention No. 87, art. 8). The right of workers to
form trade unions is comprehensive. Article
21 of the Act regulates the
provisions of the Constitution in a reasonable manner, setting forth only formal
requirements to be met by the application for registration.

311. As to the right of trade-union membership, article 4 (b) of Act
No. 23,551 recognises the right of workers to join, not to join
or to leave
existing associations. This domestic law provision gives effect to the latter
part of article 2 of ILO Convention No.
87, which states that
"workers ... shall have the right ... to join organizations". It
reflects the individual right of workers to withdraw from the trade union with
or without giving a reason. The right to join
is regulated in detail by
article 2 of Decree No. 467/88, which lays down restrictive conditions
for refusing someone membership
on the following grounds: a) Failure to
satisfy the formal requirements contained in the statutes; b) Not being
employed in the activity,
occupation, trade, category or firm represented by the
trade union; c) Expulsion from a trade union less than one year previously;
d) Having been indicted or convicted for an offence against a trade union.
The regulation stipulates that failure on the part of
the trade union to respond
within 30 days entails its acceptance of the application for
membership.

312. The regulation provides that a decision to refuse membership must be
taken through the association’s internal procedure
and the governing body
is required to set the facts before the decision-making organ, with provision
for appeal to the labour courts.

313. The right to found trade unions is not now restricted to a particular
category of workers, such as government or private employees,
as was the case
under all previous legislation. No distinction is made, either, between office
and industrial workers or manual
and intellectual workers, which means that in a
single trade union executives (the hierarchy), shop-floor workers,
professionals,
blue-collar and white-collar workers may be found together. The
right freely and autonomously to found trade unions is interpreted
broadly.

314. The law uses the modern term "worker", which covers manual and
intellectual workers in the private and in the State sector.
The use of the
concept of "public employee" as distinct from "worker" has always been without
practical implications for the trade
unionism of State workers, as the formation
of trade unions for State workers took place alongside that of other
associations and
their right to form trade unions has never been called into
question. There is no good reason why a trade union should not exercise
collective rights, such as collective bargaining, the right to strike and other
means of conflict resolution.

315. The law in force in our country respects trade-union rights without
setting any restrictions on workers. In the exercise of
those rights they may
form a trade union without the need for a minimum membership.

316. For further information on this subject, the Committee is referred to
Argentina’s second periodic report under articles
16 and 17 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

XXIX. RIGHT TO HOUSING

317. Throughout 2001 and up to the present, programmes have continued to be
executed to provide housing for the sectors that lack
it, of course within the
limits imposed since January 2002 by the current economic crisis. These
programmes are similar in their
content, beneficiaries and sources of funding to
those described in the previous report. However, early in 2002, the Government
decided to divide up its functions and concentrated in the Ministry for Social
Development those intended for the provision of housing
and/or basic
infrastructure to the population with unmet basic needs, as well as those geared
to housing emergencies. For that purpose
the Under-Secretariat for Social
Infrastructure and Housing Emergencies was set up in that Ministry.

318. The Under-Secretariat for Urban Development and Housing thus ceded those
functions, retaining those linked to the National Housing
Fund (FONAVI), as
defined in Act No. 24,464 which created the Federal Housing System in 1992.
Since that year, it has been the provinces
that have administered FONAVI (they
plan, limit, contract for, supervise and allot housing), while the
Under-Secretariat for Urban
Development and Housing allocates the funds and
audits resource management. It is in addition a member of the National Housing
Council.

319. In its role as auditor of FONAVI, the Under-Secretariat for Urban
Development and Housing has reported having no record of any
situation of racial
discrimination. What is more, in FONAVI there is no discrimination by
nationality either, since the only requirement
in this regard is that those
being allotted housing possess Argentine papers enabling verification of their
legal resident status
and capacity to undertake the obligations involved in
receiving a loan from the province to allow them to acquire the housing.
Nevertheless,
it has to be admitted that, in general and with some exceptions,
the state-subsidized housing projects are not good. Those that
exist are
expensive and of poor quality and at the same time it is often difficult to gain
access to them. Moreover, in the City
of Buenos Aires foreigners are not
allowed access to state-subsidized housing, despite the fact that both the City
Ombudsman and
INADI have issued separate rulings to the effect that this
restriction is discriminatory.

320. A very special case is that of the indigenous groups living in provinces
such as Neuquén, Formosa, Chaco or Salta. These
groups can in principle
obtain housing through FONAVI on the same terms (requirements, level of income)
as the rest of the population.
However, in view of the fact that the problems
of the indigenous population are different, in most of these provinces special
operations
have been put into effect. An example is the procedure for housing
people with funds granted in exchange for productive work, or
loans for building
their own houses. Where the provision of housing is concerned, these operations
are carried out with the resources
of FONAVI in association with other national
or provincial resources earmarked for production.

XXX. RIGHT TO PUBLIC HEALTH, MEDICAL CARE, SOCIAL SECURITY

AND SOCIAL SERVICES

321. Towards the end of 2002 the Ministry of Health issued a report on action
undertaken with regard to the population’s access
to medication,
namely:

– Adoption of the Act promoting the use of generic medicines;

– Progress of the "Remedy" programme for distribution of medicines;

– International public tender of the "Remedy" programme, for an amount
of US$25,000,000, to be financed partly by the Inter-American
Development
Bank;

– Direct transfer of resources for hospitals. Ten million dollars have
been transferred to all the provincial jurisdictions
and to the Autonomous City
of Buenos Aires. The funds are to be used for the purchase of medicines and
other health equipment for
hospital use and first aid.

Health-related action for the disabled

322. CONADIS, in its strategy for halting acts of discrimination, advises,
recommends, urges and refers to the competent body all
cases where the social
services hinder or refuse compliance with the provisions of Act No. 24,901.
Pursuant to that legal instrument,
the Committee has placed special emphasis on
the work of prevention, assistance, promotion and protection to ensure that
disabled
persons are offered comprehensive coverage of their needs. To that end
efforts have been made, with the support of the provinces,
to implement or
assist action to achieve the proposed objectives.

Health-related situation of the elderly

323. In the Secretariat for Human Development and the Family certain measures
have been taken to give effect to antidiscriminatory
policy in favour of the
elderly, namely: Home care: Here the aim is to keep elderly people in
their accustomed environment, as part of the community, so as to avoid premature
or unnecessary
institutionalization. The latter can have an adverse impact on
the habits of a lifetime, weakening their sense of belonging and
of personal
identity and reducing their autonomy. It is felt that through this programme
resources are used that enable the elderly
to remain in their own surroundings.
Accreditation standards: The Secretariat has carried out a study on the
best conditions for the operation of institutions for the elderly. Its purpose
was to make recommendations for the drafting of rules to ensure, by monitoring,
that geriatric establishments would be welcoming
homes rather than places of
marginalization. For that reason, one of the goals of this proposal is to serve
as a basis for the drafting
of a national law. Gerontological training:
The aim is to train the directors of national and provincial old people’s
homes, to pass on to them the management techniques
that will promote the
achievement of the accreditation standards mentioned above. Health promotion
workers: Their aim is on the one hand to ensure a more active role for the
elderly and on the other to help them to acquire the knowledge
that will allow
them autonomy and a good quality of life.

Health-related action for women

324. The National Plan for the Reduction of Maternal and Infant Mortality,
which is of singular importance for the social situation
of women and has had a
powerful impact on the lives and health of women and their children, was
launched by the President in July
2000. It was devised by the Ministry of
Health, with the collaboration of CNM, the Ministry of Social Development and
the Environment
and the Ministry of Education and Culture.

325. The general aim is to reduce maternal deaths (from complications during
pregnancy, delivery and the post-partum period) and deaths
among infants under
one year. The specific aims include the prevention of unwanted pregnancies
through programmes on responsible
parenthood, sex education and the prevention
of sexual violence; improving the accessibility and quality of primary health
care
services; enhancing women’s awareness of their rights and
strengthening their demand capacity; ensuring access to basic educational
skills for women of childbearing age; including in the social programmes a
component of social support for mothers and pregnant
women; encouraging
breast-feeding; and supplying suitable foods and nutrients to pregnant women and
children.

326. The Plan covers the whole country and was submitted to the Federal
Health Council (COFESA) in mid-2000, where it was discussed
and approved.
Fourteen provinces are now preparing their own plans for the reduction of
maternal and infant mortality and CNM is
advising on that.

327. The Plan envisages two main lines of action to achieve these objectives:
the transformation of the health services by having
them concentrate on the
promotion of health and the prevention of illness, without neglecting treatment
and rehabilitation, but emphasising
work on primary care and giving priority to
the following:

a) Improving the coverage and the quality of the primary services and the
maternity and paediatric referral services in order to deliver
people-friendly,
risk-free, decent and respectful care that can satisfy people’s needs,
demands and expectations;

328. To promote and publicize its content the Plan uses four central
strategies:

a) Intersectoral co-ordination of programmes and actions:

The Plan proposes that the programmes and actions currently carried out by
the various sectoral ministries(Health, Education, Social
Development) and CNM
be co-ordinated. Although the health sector has the primary responsibility for
measures to reduce maternal
and infant deaths, international experience shows
that the activities of other sectors, communication and social mobilization,
education
and social development, promotion of rights and the like, are
essential means of supplementing and consolidating the work of the
health
sector.

b) Training of staff on programmes of intervention:

People’s access to health services and their satisfaction with the care
received will depend to a large extent on a re-orientation
of the work and
working methods of those who provide health and other social services. This
will require fresh training geared to
the perspective of rights, professional
competence in problem-solving, improved quality of care, and monitoring and
appraisal of
the impact of the action taken.

c) Promotion of the rights of individuals and society:

The likelihood of people developing habits of self-care and early response to
warning signals and of asserting their health rights
depends basically on their
awareness of those rights and on the development of their individual and
collective capacity to demand
them. That will require action to be undertaken
to promote health rights.

d) Communication to enhance citizens’ commitment and control:

Any strategy to reduce maternal and infant mortality must be based on solid
and sustained commitment and control by the people, for
that can change cultural
stereotypes and social norms harmful to women’s and children’s
health and contribute to making
their good health a matter of dignity in our
culture.

329. Under the National Plan, CNM has carried out the following:

Awareness and training sessions on the National Plan. During these
sessions, held in a number of provinces, CNM presented the Plan’s
objectives and encouraged local government
bodies and civil society to become
involved.

Training workshops on reproductive health and gender. Five of these
workshops have been held, with special emphasis on the quality of care, in the
provinces involved in the first stage
of CNM’s Federal Programme for
Women. They were organized by the provincial women’s offices, with the
participation
of the maternal and child departments of the health ministries or
secretariats of the provinces concerned. They were attended by
the provincial
women’s office teams, women’s NGOs, civil society organizations
working with and for women, health office
staff, health teams from the public
assistance network and personnel from the social development offices of each
province.

330. With regard to action strategies and materials for the promotion of
women’s health rights, a campaign was launched on the
rights of the users
of health services based on graphic materials (posters and pamphlets)
highlighting the rights of women as health-service
users. The campaign was
intended to draw attention to the right to information, to friendly treatment
and to respect for a woman’s
privacy, her body and her decisions. It was
run jointly by CNM and UNICEF.

331. Along the same lines, information materials have also been produced on
genital and breast cancer and the menopause, addressed
to women in general, with
a view to increasing their understanding of these problems and making them aware
of their rights in respect
of the provision of related benefits by the health
system. Lastly, again with the support of UNICEF, a guide to reproductive
health
has been published (Health guide No. 5 "Women’s health"),
addressed to women and to social services staff working with women,
which gives
basic information on topics in this area.

332. CNM has also produced graphic materials (pamphlets and booklets)
containing information on the reproductive health situation
and the Plan’s
objectives and strategies. Technical notes have been prepared for the staff of
public health, social development
and education agencies, women’s NGOs and
parliamentarians on the subjects of maternal mortality, reproductive health
legislation
and the sexual and reproductive rights of adolescents. The purpose
of these materials is to provide a diagnosis of the country’s
situation in
these respects, together with matter for informed debate and the promotion of
women’s rights under current domestic
law.

Compulsory medical plan

333. The compulsory medical plan was revised once again in October 2000, to
specify the benefits which must be paid by all the social
security agencies
covered by article 1 of Act No. 23,660. It established a new
catalogue of benefits available under the plan, including
details of all the
benefits the social security agencies must pay to their members, since the
latter are entitled to all the benefits
listed.

334. Several programmes are covered by this list. The mother and infant plan
provides 100 per cent cover for comprehensive care during
pregnancy, childbirth
and early infancy; 100 per cent cover for medicines required by the mother
during pregnancy, childbirth and
post partum and 40 per cent for unrelated
medicines prescribed on an out-patient basis; and 100 per cent cover for
medicines for
the baby during the first year of life. Also included is advice
on breast-feeding, child care and responsible parenthood. The programme
on the
prevention of cervical cancer covers 100 per cent of the cost of PAP smear tests
for all women over 25 years at intervals
determined by the test results,
together with additional tests (colposcopy and biopsy) again depending on the
results. The programme
for the prevention of breast cancer provides for an
annual mammogram from age 40.

Care of persons with HIV/AIDS

335. Argentina is seeking a correct response to the need to establish health
policies to control the epidemic on the basis of data
obtained from
epidemiological surveillance, as demonstrated by the National AIDS Act
No. 23,798 and its regulatory decree, in articles
10 and 11.

336. Data gathered to date show that there is a total of approximately 14,500
cases. The ratio of men to women is three to one;
the average age for men is
32 years, while for women it is as low as 26. The proportion of minors (under
15 years) is about 7 per
cent. Most cases of transmission are due to the shared
use of needles and syringes among intravenous drug addicts (41 per cent)
and to
sexual intercourse (46.6 per cent). It should be borne in mind that the
majority of cases (93 per cent) are still concentrated
in the main urban
areas.

337. As far as concerns the total number of cases recorded since the
beginning of the epidemic, two factors should be taken into account:
on the one
hand, the information time-lag and, on the other, the existence of cases that
have not yet been reported and that will
not be reported in the future
(under-reporting). It is over the last two and a half years (1996-1999) that
38.4 per cent of cases
have been diagnosed and, if one adds the 1995 cases, five
out of every ten AIDS cases have been diagnosed in the last three years.

338. There are cases of AIDS in every province of Argentina. However, the
epidemic is concentrated in the major urban areas and its
impact is uneven.

339. As for the distribution of cases by sex, the ratio has remained at under
four men to each woman since 1992, with a slight tendency
to decline. One must
point out that the behaviour of this variable (men/women ratio), like that of
others, changes according to
the characteristics the epidemic assumes in each
city. There are cities where the chief means of transmission are needles and
syringes
shared among intravenous drug users. In other places, unprotected sex
between men is the principal risk factor. And in others again,
heterosexual
relations are the main cause.

340. When all cases are analysed by means of transmission, the most important
means is seen to be sexual transmission, which causes
about 50 per cent of
cases. Unprotected homosexual and bisexual relations are responsible for about
26 per cent of cases, unprotected
heterosexual relations for about 20 per cent.
This last means, heterosexual relations, is the one that has shown the highest
rate
of growth in recent years. After developing slowly up to 1992, it is now
growing so fast that it is overtaking intravenous drug
use.

341. Cases of vertical transmission represent 7 per cent of the total and
deserve special mention. Using early diagnosis and treatment
among pregnant
women and newborns, it is possible to produce a high impact on this sector of
the affected population.

342. Another element that needs to be taken into account when analysing risk
factors is their relationship to the age of the patient.
Of those persons
probably infected through intravenous drug use, 60 per cent were under 30 years
of age at the time of diagnosis.
Among persons stating that they were infected
through unprotected heterosexual relations, those under 30 years represented 43
per
cent. Among men whose presumed source of contagion was unprotected sex with
other men, only 25 per cent were under 30 when the disease
was diagnosed.

343. Level of education is the most sensitive indicator the National
Programme has for estimating the socio-economic situation of
the affected
population. This varies with the means of transmission. Among intravenous drug
users sharing equipment, only 18 per
cent had completed secondary school; 15
per cent had not completed primary school. At the other end of the scale is the
group of
men who have sex with other men, among whom 4.4 per cent had not
finished primary school, whereas 61 per cent had at least completed
high school
when diagnosed with AIDS.

344. The increasing poverty among the victims of the epidemic throughout the
world is also being observed in our country. Noting
the degree of education as
one of the indicators of socio-economic level, one can observe an increasing
tendency for AIDS cases to
be associated with low levels of schooling.

345. From 1996 onwards the AIDS epidemic began to acquire a differentiated
profile, thanks to the use of new (combined) treatments
which, on the one hand,
improve the quality of life of AIDS patients and, on the other, postpone the
appearance of indicative ailments
in those infected with HIV. This will
certainly cause a reduction in the number of new AIDS cases, without necessarily
meaning a
halt to the HIV epidemic or, a crucial factor, a decline in deaths
from AIDS.

Infection monitoring

346. The epidemiological analysis of diseases has among its main
objectives:

b) To provide the health services administration with the means to assess the
resources needed for intervention.

347. As has been the case everywhere in the world, the analysis of AIDS
cases, the ailments that mark the presence of AIDS and the
population groups
affected has more to do with the second of the above-mentioned objectives. On
the other hand, when future strategies
have to be outlined, AIDS cases data are
insufficient and it becomes essential to study the epidemic in its earliest
phase: that
of HIV infection.

348. As the monitoring of infection is systematized, it becomes possible over
time to establish trends in the epidemic or changes
that may occur in the
different population groups, and as a result adjust prevention policy where
necessary. The debate on HIV/AIDS
then is no longer limited to how many cases
there are in each country or what the rates of occurrence are(number of new AIDS
cases
in relation to the control population), but increasingly includes the
following question: what is the prevalence of infection in
each country (number
of persons infected at given moment/total control population) ?

349. In this regard one should recall that, since the HIV/AIDS epidemic is
closely linked to to personal lifestyles, there exist substantial
differences
among the cases. This means that an analysis of the whole population as a
homogenous group would not allow a real grasp
of the problem. That is why, in
order to study the prevalence of HIV infection over time, population groups have
been delineated
that show the greatest possible homogeneity where risk-linked
behaviour for HIV transmission is concerned.

– Drug addicts (mainly intravenous), those who consult services
for sexually transmitted diseases, detainees and sex workers. According to
national
and international writing on the subject, these are the groups most
vulnerable to HIV.

– Pregnant women. They constitute a clearly representative
segment of the sexually active population with a degree of vulnerability similar
to that
of the general population.

– Armed forces recruits. Although military service is not at
present compulsory, which reduces the representativity of this group
vis-à-vis the general
population, the age of the group members (18 to 24
years) coincides with that of those most affected by this epidemic.

350. On the other hand, there are two population groups that are not highly
representative in relation to the general population.

– Blood donors. If strategies for self-exclusion exist, this
group should show a lower prevalence than does the general population.

– Anonymous, voluntary detection-centre consultants. Those who
visit such centresfrequently perceive themselves as being at risk, so the
prevalence
among them is usually greater than in the general population.

351. Similarly, data from general laboratories obtained at a doctor’s
request from persons with a suspicious diagnosis tend
to show greater prevalence
than is found in the general population. Even with the limitations indicated,
these population groups
have two fundamental features: information about them
is accessible and the fact that a similar methodology has been maintained
over
time makes comparisons possible.

Epidemic monitoring

352. The system of epidemiological monitoring of HIV prevalence, using a
uniform methodology in all jurisdictions, which began in
1998, allows us to
establish a starting point for the prevalence of infections in each province and
in the country as a whole. To
date, 19 jurisdictions, the armed forces and the
prison system have been taking part in this system of twice-yearly notification.
Each has contributed data on the different groups selected, with different
degrees of prevalence that vary according to the type
of behaviour represented
and the spread of the virus in that place.

353. For analysis by jurisdiction, it has to be noted that in some provinces
the data are by city, in others by department and in
others they are provincial
totals. As for an analysis over time, it must be observed that for some
population groups there are data
from both halves of 1998, for others only from
one. All data are useful in observing trends and their epidemiological value
depends
on the number of persons from whom blood samples can be obtained, the
reliability of the information and the maintenance over time
of a uniform
collection method. To reduce the dispersal of data and to be able to make valid
statistical comparisons, the main measurement
used is the median, with the
minimum and the maximum as auxiliary measurements.

XXXI. RIGHT TO EDUCATION AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING

354. The following are the measures implemented by the Ministry of Education,
Science and Technology to give effect to antidiscriminatory
policy where the
right to education is concerned.

Rural schools

355. Since the beginning of the Social Education Plan, the country’s
rural schools – and one should point out that the
northwest and northeast
regions of Argentina contain about 70 per cent of all schools – have been
the target of different types
of action throughout the period 2000-2001.

356. Provision of textbooks. These are given to pupils in the first
year of basic general education and lent to them from the second to the sixth
year, as well
as pencils, pens, rulers etc, exercise books and paper, in all the
schools taking part in the Plan.

357. Teaching of the third cycle of basic general education in isolated
schools. Since 1996, in order to comply effectively with the Federal
Education Act, the education offered to isolated rural populations has been
expanded through the implementation of Rural Project EGB3. Acting
in
co-ordination with 19 provinces the project reaches about 2,500 schools using
different organizational arrangements. The curricular
material needed to
complete the cycle is provided at the national level: workbooks for the pupils,
teachers’ aids, specific
book collections for daily work and financial
contributions for replacing used teaching materials. It is up to the provincial
counterpart
to provide and pay the teachers and meet related overheads.

358. Development of school clusters and projects. Since 2000,
clusters of rural schools have been formed with the aim of forming a network.
The first clusters were formed with
those schools that each province selected as
being priority institutions. Each of the schools prepared its own "focused"
project
and the group of clustered schools defined instances of joint work,
known as "cluster projects", that could be done to solve common
problems. The
national Government financed the implementation of the projects and gave
technical assistance for their design and
development.

359. Development of the Early Start project. Early in 2000, in the
provinces of the northeast and northwest of Argentina, which in the previous
year had had fewer schooldays
than planned, the national Ministry of Education,
together with the provincial education authorities, launched a project in rural
schools for an early start to the reading cycle. The aim was to ensure that
pupils entering the first year of basic general education
or the first year of
middle school were better prepared for learning. The teachers received reading
materials and technical support
for work on language and mathematics and the
pupils were given textbooks.

Situation of the disabled in education

360. The Programme to Promote Integration into Mainstream Education, which
comes under the Programme Co-ordinating Committee for Persons
with Disabilities
in the Ministry of Education, has provided the funding for various school
establishment projects geared to achieving
full integration for pupils with
special education needs. In that way it has been possible for pupils who until
then were unable
to attend what are known as "mainstream" educational
establishments, whether because of the presence of architectural barriers or
the
absence of teaching and information material adapted specifically to their use,
to be fully integrated into the main stream in
respect for their special
needs.

361. The "Special Education Network" project opened up channels of
communication among the various participating institutions allowing
them to
exchange resources among themselves and with their communities. Thus they have
endeavoured to establish mechanisms for inter-institutional
and intra-community
links that in the end will lead to the integration of pupils from special
schools into society.

362. What is more, through the "focused" projects and the "cluster" projects
already mentioned in the rural areas, special schools
have been able to take an
effective part in the clusters in terms of the pupils’ school careers.
The aim has been to begin
a process of inclusion of the so-called special
schools in the general education system, so as to establish mechanisms for
continuous
co-operation between mainstream educational institutions and
establishments for special education.

363. In its work during the period 2000-2001 in the area of special
education, the Ministry of Education devoted part of its efforts
to starting up
a fully operational inclusive school to cater for pupils with special
educational needs, in other words the needs
of persons who require aids or
resources that are not usually available in a school context to enable them to
begin acquiring the
knowledge contained in the curriculum.

364. This approach entails the recognition of human diversity, which can only
be attained when human rights are given their true value.
Such recognition is
the first step to finding appropriate solutions for the education of those who
because of their peculiar circumstances
or backgrounds find it harder to benefit
from schooling. All children have to learn, but it should be possible for them
to do so
in a setting adapted to their needs, so as to further the development
of their potential.

365. The changes brought about by the A-19 Framework Agreement for Special
Education and promoted at each of the regional and national
meetings involved
activities concerned with quality criteria and indicators carried out in the
different regions. Some examples
are:

– Implementation of follow-up and evaluation programmes by the managers
themselves of school-integration and adapted-teaching
projects;

– Creation of centres to provide guidance, up-to-date information and
research for the community and for the educational establishments
that accept
and cater for those with special educational needs;

– Recruiting well-balanced teachers who can enhance the inclusiveness
of schools with mainstreamed children;

– Separate and specific institutional education projects in mainstream
and special schools;

– Service network for early motivation;

– Hired apprenticeships in public offices.

366. All this is possible within the theoretical framework provided by the
idea of an inclusive education. In that perspective, the
Special Education
Technical Team has geared its action to creating schools that can offer quality
service.

367. Furthering inclusive schooling means making room for an educational
establishment that can give quality education to all the
children in a given
population, an establishment which, thanks to the excellence of what it offers,
enables all the children in the
community to find there whatever they need for
their fullest possible development. This requires not only the will to organize
it,
but also the awareness of a need that will translate into serious,
interdisciplinary training. A community can so marshal its resources
that it
can respond to diversity with an interdisciplinary, interinstitutional and
intersectoral approach. This way of perceiving
respect for diversity is bound
to encourage and facilitate interaction among people, since it is not only a
matter of mere school
reform, but of transcending the institutional to go on to
work together and become protagonists in other social activities.

368. Information work has been done to promote the start-up of an inclusive
school in academic forums (congresses, refresher courses,
seminars) organized by
various national entities (CONADIS, INADI, Department of Special Education of
the Province of Buenos Aires,
Social Science Faculty of the University of Buenos
Aires, Ministry of Health, Secretariat for Distance Learning of the National
University
of La Plata) and international organizations (OAS, UNESCO, Pan
American Health Organization).

369. A project approved by the OAS Inter-American Council for Integral
Development in MERCOSUR (together with Brazil, Uruguay, Chile
and Paraguay) and
entitled "Education in diversity" is at present under way and work is being done
in that connection with mainstream
schools belonging to the Government of the
City of Buenos Aires. The institutions have been selected with the criterion of
cultural
diversity in mind. Subjects involving discrimination generated by
ethnic, social, cognitive, sensory and motor differences are being
emphasised.

Anti-discrimination policy implementation measures in education

370. Actions have been planned to foster:

– The transformation of institutional management (to make it more
flexible and interdisciplinary, capable of generating comprehensive,
diversified
and balanced institutional projects);

– The adaptation of the curriculum (to permit pupils with special
educational needs to follow the general curriculum);

– The organization of resources to respond to diversity (from
interdisciplinary, interinstitutional and intersectoral approaches);

– The early detection and treatment of impaired development;

– The creation and updating of sources of vocational training;

– The training that should accompany the installation of new special
education models.

371. The Special Education Team undertook these actions as it worked in each
of the provinces whether in regional meetings (in the
northwest and northeast,
in Cuyo, in the centre and in the south) attended by technical teams from the
jurisdictions, supervisors
and teachers from special and mainstream schools or
in national forums (November 2000 and November 2001). Specialists also engaged
to be present and on the basis of updated theory helped in the drafting of
documents to assist reflection and debate.

372. The improvement of services meant that special education had to break
out of the mould of an isolated subsystem of education.
So work had to be done
to encourage:

a) Link-ups with school services, so that, where the children’s
disabilities allowed it, pupils with special educational needs
could be
integrated into mainstream schools. By this is meant actually making it
possible for those children to follow the curriculum
in a mainstream school by
making the teaching flexible and grading it in such a way as to allow different
children to work alongside
mainstream children, while always respecting their
manner of development and learning speeds;

b) Achieving better academic results in special centres or schools in those
situations where strategies for mainstreaming properly
so-called are not felt
sufficient or where the complexity of the educational needs so requires.

373. This has been achieved using technical assistance to generate proposals
for training and meetings to foster reflection about
practice accompanied by a
review of that practice.

374. Mainstreaming pupils with special educational needs does not entail a
generalized solution without programmes of co-ordination,
where the child would
just be physically placed in a mainstream school in the charge of an ordinary
teacher who would have to assume
full responsibility for that child’s
education. A process of interactive decision-making has to be undergone by the
multidisciplinary
team, with the special school, with the host school, with the
family, the pupil, the class and the teachers (both special and mainstream).
It
is a whole method of work, in the classroom, in the school and with society,
founded on the right to the most appropriate education
and to equality of
opportunity. In other words, the inclusive school must ensure that the
integration of certain pupils with special
education needs is a right and not a
duty (by avoiding compulsory integration).

375. Further on the question of education, CONADIS has been working to make
the inclusion of children with different needs effective
by involving children
and youngsters without disabilities as partners in the task. It has done this
by encouraging behaviour that
makes the inclusion easier. It has particularly
borne in mind the fact that education is the very best way to prevent isolation
and social fragmentation and that exclusion, in whatever form, sets its victim
on the road to marginalization and discrimination.

Report on bilingual intercultural education

376. In 2000 and 2001, progress was made in different ways to deal with
controversial aspects of the relationship of the educational
system to the
indigenous population. It was felt to be urgent to act both with regard to
schools with a high percentage of indigenous
pupils and to the school system as
a whole.

377. In schools with a high proportion of the indigenous population, the most
obviously problematic situations concern the children’s
difficulties in
learning to read and write, and a lack of trained staff and of appropriate
teaching materials. These factors, compounding
the situation of poverty and
marginalization, lead to very high numbers of children repeating the year or
dropping out.

378. In 2001, an appeal was made for a systematic review of the experiences
of schools throughout the country working with the indigenous
population, with
the aim of systematizing the work in intercultural and bilingual education,
publicizing existing experience and
turning it to advantage. The reports sent
in show positive effects (in terms of pupils staying in school, their work and
their involvement
in what the schools propose) where teachers identify the
problems and devise strategies to deal with them, questioning their own
prejudices and endeavouring to appreciate the reality of different
socio-cultural backgrounds. A study of these experiences will
allow us to
identify courses of action for further progress.

MERCOLINGUA data bank

379. The Working Group on Linguistic Policy (GTPL) of MERCOSUR’s
Education Sector has recommended the constitution of the first
MERCOLINGUA data
bank. Details of the project are as follows:

Objectives

– To obtain objective data for linguistic policy formulation
(concerning the official languages of MERCOSUR, indigenous languages,
and
others) for the region and make them available to politicians, researchers and
teachers;

– To create a network of specialists able to influence and assist the
process of regional integration.

Activities

Retrieving data relating to the following:

– Human resources to work on the research proposed and to form a
specialist network;

– Legislation and work on language by the Ministries and Secretariats
of Education;

– Research and projects completed or under way on the sociology of
language, in connection with the languages of MERCOSUR.

380. Argentina invited a team of specialists from the Linguistics Institute
of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the University
of Buenos Aires,
co-ordinated by Professor Roberto Bein, to carry out this task. In December
2001, the team submitted its final
report on the first stage of the research
project on the MERCOLINGUA data bank. It contains:

a) A survey of existing research into the linguistic situation in the
Argentine Republic;

b) A survey of the politico-linguistic legislation adopted in the country (on
education, on the media, on the protection of languages
and on MERCOSUR);

c) A study, as yet incomplete, on the demographic and linguistic situation
and the politico-linguistic action taken in the Province
of Corrientes.

381. Measures have been adopted to combat discriminatory prejudices and to
foster understanding, tolerance and friendship among the
various groups
suffering discrimination, especially through teaching and education, culture and
information.

382. With technical assistance and in some cases direct financing, support
has been given to developing the experience of bilingualism,
of learning Spanish
as a second language, of training and integrating indigenous teachers and
assistants and of training white teachers
in the language and culture of the
indigenous groups with which they work, as well as in publishing teaching
materials adapted to
each context. This work has mostly been done in the
provinces of Jujuy, Formosa, Chaco, Misiones, Santa Fe and Neuquén.

383. In response to proposals for the education system as a whole, work has
been done on revising the image of indigenous people as
it has become fixed in
the mind of society and in the education system.. The national Ministry has
taken part in teacher training
forums and in the preparation of social science
textbooks with the aim of changing the way in which American and Argentine
history
is told. It is also following the development of innovative
experiments.

384. A module on linguistic diversity was included in the Support Programme
for Trainers, in which 180 teachers from all round the
country took part.
The following were part of the Programme:

b) A workshop co-ordinated by the team from the Priority Schools
Programme entitled "Meeting the needs of the indigenous population";

c) A bibliography on the subject (current situation of indigenous languages
in Argentina, elements for a socio-linguistic diagnosis,
descriptions of some
indigenous languages of Argentina, assessment of the bilingual intercultural
education process, recommendations
for teaching Spanish as a second language in
a context of diversity);

d) A workshop on "The multigrade, multilingual classroom".

Report on migrant education

385. The characteristics of present-day migrant flows are different from
those of the past. The goal of earlier migrants was to find
in Argentina
opportunities for work and welfare that were denied them in their countries of
origin, with the more or less declared
intention of settling for good. Although
economic reasons remain basic to migration, when the decision is taken it is
possible to
distinguish different goals.

386. Settlement in the country has become notably less frequent where
European immigrants are concerned. Here one should also recall
the difference
between the quality of life to be found in the central European countries up to
the middle of the twentieth century
and today.

387. We could divide immigrants into two major groups:

a) The first group comes largely from neighbouring countries. They emigrate
for economic reasons and generally do not take steps
to settle legally, because
they lack the economic resources to begin those high-cost procedures. That is
why there are no reliable
statistics on how many they are. They are to be found
in large numbers in frontier regions and in the major cities, as unskilled,
often self-employed, workers and hawkers.

b) The second group may be subdivided into:

– Refugees from countries with political problems or countries at war:
the Balkans, Africa, the formerly communist countries
etc. In most cases they
are under the protection of UNHCR or are in contact with international aid
organizations such as the International
Confederation of Catholic Charities
(Caritas) or the Argentine Catholic Commission for Migration;

– Migrants in transit to the United States. This is the case of most
Koreans and Chinese;

– Temporary migrants, such as the Bolivians in the northwest and the
Chileans in the south;

– Others.

388. The second group, which represents 40 per cent of those registered with
the National Directorate for Migration, usually have
better living conditions
and a higher level of education, but also experience considerable difficulties
in becoming integrated, because
of the language barrier and cultural
differences.

389. One of the major problems for immigrants is learning the Spanish
language. Information currently available indicates that courses
are in scarce
supply. The University of Buenos Aires offers paying courses. By an agreement
with UNHCR and the Argentine Catholic
Commission for Migration, refugees can
take the first level without payment.

390. The government of the city of Buenos Aires offers some free courses, but
there are not enough to satisfy demand in the city that
has the largest number
of foreign entrants and settlers needing language classes. In view of the
scarce supply and the volume of
demand, the Argentine Catholic Commission for
Migration has recruited some teachers who give free classes at its
headquarters.

391. In any case, the total supply is insufficient. Out of the approximately
12,000 non-Spanish-speaking foreigners who came to live
here in 2000, about
2,000 were able to attend classes (source: Ministry of the Interior, National
Directorate for Migration).

392. Finally on the subject of migrants’ access to education, it is
important to note that in the city of Buenos Aires, Act
No. 203 of 1999
compels educational establishments to register pupils under 18 years of age
temporarily, even when they have no identity
papers. It also provides for
counselling and assistance for foreign students and their legal representatives
with the procedures
for regularizing their situation.

General antidiscrimination policy in migrant education

393. In view of the State’s severe political and budgetary limitations
and the over-ambitious proposals that have failed or
been abandoned in the past,
the Ministry of Education must set realistic and well-defined policies capable
of being sustained over
time.

394. They should be concentrated on four essential aspects of migrants’
situation:

a) Socialization and acquisition of Spanish;

b) Recognition of studies or evaluation of level of education for adults and
continuation of the same;

c) School enrolment of children of migrants;

d) Agreements with neighbouring countries on providing continued basic
general education and basic general education for adults to
migrant families
(there exists a project prepared by IOM for the Potosí-Jujuy region);

e) Recognition of and support for cultures of origin.

Action undertaken

395. To date, the Co-ordination Unit for the Education of Young People and
Adults in the Ministry of Education has contacted some
of the institutions
involved in the above-mentioned areas.

396. In the Ministry of the Interior, the National Directorate for Migration
has obtained statistics on numbers of resident and non-resident
foreigners.
With UNHCR and the Argentine Catholic Commission for Migration they have
analysed possible courses of action for promoting
some initiatives, specifically
the regulation of Resolution No. 2575/98. By that resolution, the Ministry
of Education established
preferential treatment in the administrative procedures
for entering the country’s educational establishments for those foreigners
who have obtained refugee status under the protection of UNHCR. It also
provided for tests to evaluate those who have no certificates
indicating the
level of instruction attained. The Ministry of Education, together with the
co-ordinating body of the National Solidarity
Programme, also plans to study,
jointly with the heads of some national universities, the possibility of student
volunteers giving
free Spanish classes.

Action proposed

Regulation of Resolution No. 2575/98

397. Together with the other departments concerned – Validations, Legal
Affairs etc. – draft regulations will be prepared
for this Resolution, as
well as for standardizing the tests to validate studies completed in the
immigrants’ countries of origin.

Continuation of studies or vocational training

398. Regular information will be provided in an ad hoc bulletin to those
institutions permanently concerned (National Directorate
for Migration, UNHCR,
Argentine Catholic Commission, Caritas and others) and to those of the
immigrants’ nations regarding
the availability of Spanish classes, basic
general education for adults, polymodal education, FP etc. and the requests and
needs
of adults will be examined.

Research on laws in force

399. Information will be gathered in the various jurisdictions about the laws
that are in force regarding requests for enrolment of
foreign students and
accreditation of their studies, with the aim of streamlining them.

Report on education of young people and adults

400. During the period 2000-2001, four federal and four regional meetings
were held to agree on measures for integrating young people
and adults into the
formal education system and improving the availability of education. The first
Federal Meeting of the Unit for
the Education of Young People and Adults (EDJA)
was held in the province of Córdoba in August 2000. The participants
were
those responsible for planning and administering education in the provinces
and the city of Buenos Aires (political representatives
of government
departments, managers of the provincial Special Education Regimes, members of
technical teams, supervisors and directors
of young peoples’ and
adults’ schools of basic/primary education, middle-level and polymodal
education, informal education
and vocational training); representatives of
organizations concerned with the education of young people and adults (trade
unions,
employers’ associations, PMEs); and research-workers and
specialists in the subject.

401. The considerations that formed the political and technical foundation
for the meeting and the context in which it was held were
explained, as were the
educational policy directions that underpinned the proposals for the education
of young people and adults.
This Federal Meeting of EDJA constituted the
beginning of a process of reorganizing and improving the education available to
young
people and adults.

402. The main goals of the meeting were to move ahead in agreeing policy
directions to pursue in the field of EDJA; to create a framework
for defining
criteria for the formulation of general curricular guidelines and curricular
structures for basic general education
and polymodal education; to propose the
basis for future action at the provincial, regional and federal levels; and to
exchange
information about the situation and functioning of adult education in
the provinces and the city of Buenos Aires.

403. A document entitled "Guidelines for the organization of basic education
for young people and adults" was submitted for discussion
in the working
committees to advance the debate and the definition of proposals for action.
The provincial authorities assumed responsibility
for carrying out a round of
consultations in the EDJA community, so as to bring suggestions to the regional
meetings. The latter
were held in Octber and November of 2000.

404. The regional meetings were sponsored by the Ministry of Education and
organized by the authorities of the provinces forming each
region. The purpose
was to prepare a regional report on regional agreements for the identification
and treatment of common problems.
The participants were provincial directors
and co-ordinators of EDJA, technical experts, supervisors, EDJA teachers and a
representative
of the EDJA team from the Ministry. The regions were the
northeast, the northwest, Cuyo and the south.

405. The working method and the sessions were different in each region. The
representatives of the provinces taking part submitted
a report to the regional
meetings with inputs to the Tanti document, prepared together with teachers,
directors and supervisors.

406. At the Federal Seminar or second Federal Meeting of EDJA, held in Buenos
Aires in December 2000, each region presented the report
prepared at its
regional meeting. Participating in this Seminar were the provincial director or
co-ordinator of EDJA, representatives
of the technical teams from the provinces
and the Ministry of Education, supervisors and representatives of the Argentine
Union of
Education Workers.

407. The meeting was opened by the Under-Secretary for Basic Education and
the co-ordinators of the programmes Curriculum Management
and Training, Teacher
Training and Priority Schools. The work of the meeting then continued with the
submission of the regional
reports. The EDJA co-ordinator presented the working
document "Guidelines for the organization of basic education for young people
and adults" for work in regional committees.

408. The committees worked on the problems of learning in EDJA, the
availability of EDJA, its unified management and heterogeneous
public, all
within the framework of the document. The committees’ conclusions were
presented in plenary at the conclusion
of the meeting. On the basis of these
contributions, the Ministry of Education pledged to prepare a new version of the
document
that would include the recommendations made.

409. Federal Meeting with the Buenos Aires political authorities, August
2001. The participants were the political authorities of
the province, the
provincial director or co-ordinator of EDJA and the co-ordinator and technical
team of EDJA in the Ministry of
Education.

410. The meeting was opened by the Under-Secretary for Basic Education and
the Co-ordinator of Curriculum Management and Training,
who explained the thrust
of the Ministry’s work. The Co-ordinator of the EDJA Unit presented the
document "Basis for the reform
of education for young people and adults",
drafted using the contributions of the federal meetings of the year 2000.

411. At that meeting, it was proposed to study and discuss the document
concentrating on the following areas for action: unified
management,
structure of the supply, criteria for accreditation and curricular guidelines
for the transformation of EDJA. There
was general agreement and the suggestions
and contributions received were used in the preparation of the final rough
draft.

412. There were also presentations on the work done for specific target
populations: education in prisons, education for immigrants,
treatment of 10-15
year olds, literacy programmes. These aroused interest among the participants,
who saw reflected in them the
problems they have today.

413. The Ministry of Education assumed responsibility for redrafting the
document "Basis for the reform of education for young people
and adults",
incorporating the inputs from the different working committees, for later
examination, discussion and agreement.

414. Second Federal Meeting with the Buenos Aires political authorities,
November 2001. The participants were the political authorities
of the province,
the EDJA director or co-ordinator and the co-ordinator and technical team of
EDJA in the Ministry. This meeting
continued the work of the previous one and
included a new line of action, namely training for teachers of young people and
adults,
through FORDECAP.

415. The meeting was opened by the Co-ordinator of the National Programme of
Curricular Management and Training. Thereafter, the
head of FORDECAP presented
the provisions for the training of EDJA teachers, to be implemented in 2002.
The co-ordinator of the
EDJA Unit presented the final rough draft of "Basis for
the reform of education for young people and adults".

416. The working committees studied and discussed the new version of the
document agreeing to the various courses of action presented
therein. On
teacher-training, they pointed out the need for a representative of EDJA to work
with the provincial central administrations.
When committees to deal with
particular problems were formed, two representatives from each region were
elected to the committee
on accreditation, certification and distance learning
and to the committee on the immigrant population. The creation of these two
committees was recorded in the document at the request of the provinces.

417. At the plenary meeting, each region explained and justified the changes
made to the version as submitted. They were reflected
in the document to be
presented to the CFE. Likewise, the final rough draft of the document was read
out, with all provincial representatives
agreeing to it.

Vocational training for the elderly

418. The Secretariat for Human Development and the Family in the Ministry of
Social Development has taken measures to encourage the
integration of the
elderly in the field of education. It has put forward projects for voluntary
work and for micro-enterprises.
Both proposals promote a changed and enhanced
status for the elderly in society, in the first place allowing them to be seen
as
socially productive members of society and also integrating them in a special
way into productive activity. By way of example, in
the Province of Chubut a
subproject called "Clothing" has been implemented involving the production of
clothing by the elderly for
the elderly.

XXXII. RIGHT TO EQUAL PARTICIPATION IN CULTURAL
ACTIVITIES

419. One of the main directions taken the formulation of cultural policy in
the Republic of Argentina has been towards equality of
opportunity in access to
culture. There has been a permanent quest for responses to cultural demands and
an effort to be open to
instances of creative endeavour throughout the
community, seeking especially to include the least favoured sectors, out of a
conviction
that culture is not just a luxury for the wealthy nor mere
leisure-time entertainment.

420. The Secretariat for Culture in the Office of the President has laid
particular emphasis not just on the kind of action that brings
culture to a
public accustomed to it, a public that demands and engages in cultural
activities, but also on action that leads to
a broadening of the demand,
allowing those who have never had access to cultural activities to enjoy them
and opening up new areas
where such activities are available to the widest
possible public. To that end several different programmes have been undertaken
to ensure equality of opportunity in access to culture.

421. Furthermore, measures have been taken to give effect to
antidiscriminatory policy in the area of culture. Among such, the
Under-Secretariat
for the Elderly in the Ministry of Social Development has
implemented a programme called "Story-telling grandparents". The purpose
is to
give older adults an active and integrated role in the community. It also means
that the children who listen to the stories
will have a picture of the elderly
as active, productive people and can see the prospect of growing old themselves
in a positive
light.

ARTICLE 5 (F)

XXXIII. RIGHT OF ACCESS TO ANY PLACE OR SERVICE

Situation of disabled persons

422. The technical experts of CONADIS have drawn up various projects and
monitored compliance with Act No. 23,314 and its regulatory
Decree
No. 914/97 on questions of access for disabled persons, since it is an
imperative of non-discrimination in this area to act
with the knowledge and
judgement necessary to ensure that all new construction and all adaptations
always provide for full access.

423. At the same time, the Unit for Disabled Persons and Vulnerable Groups in
the Ministry of Labour is implementing a programme for
the removal of
architectural barriers that is at present at the project stage. The main
purpose is to adapt the access to public
and private places, the means of moving
about within them and other installations in such a way as to allow disabled
people to make
use of them, whether as workers or consumers, thus improving the
material conditions for their integration in the workplace and society.

Note: For more detailed information under the present article, please
refer to Argentina’s fourth periodic report to the Committee
against
Torture, its fifth periodic report to the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women, its third periodic
report to the Human Rights
Committee, its second periodic report to the Committee on the Rights of the
Child and its second periodic
report on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights.

ARTICLE 6

XXXIV. EFFECTIVE REMEDIES AGAINST ACTS OF
DISCRIMINATION

424. The remedies prescribed by Argentine law to protect against acts of
discrimination have been described in the previous sections,
to which the reader
is referred.

425. INADI has a complaints centre whose task is to receive and study the
complaints of persons or groups that consider themselves
the victims of
discriminatory practices and to advise and assist them. The procedure is as
follows: once the truth of the allegation
is proved, a peaceful solution of the
dispute is sought through legal advice, administrative management, mediation and
free sponsorship.
Since its inception, INADI has received about 3,500
complaints. The centre is also compiling a register of cases of discrimination
throughout the country so as to draw up a statistical table of them.

426. In addition, in 2000 INADI signed an agreement with the
Under-Secretariat for Security in the Ministry of the Interior for the
preparation of training courses in combating discrimination for the personnel of
the National Gendarmerie, the Federal Prefecture
and the Federal Police. An
agreement has also been signed with the Under-Secretariat for Penitentiary
Affairs of the Ministry of
Justice and Human Rights for the training of prison
staff. Furthermore, since 2001 the training programmes for officers and
under-officers
of the Federal Prison System have been brought up to date by
including the study of human rights, together with the Universal Declaration
of
Human Rights and the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials. The courses
for officers include the subject "Applied ethics
and human rights".

427. The present Human Rights Secretariat in the Ministry of Justice and
Human Rights has received complaints and has provided protection
and legal
assistance, though always in consultation with INADI. Most of the Argentine
provinces have local organs to intervene in
similar fashion in cases of
discrimination.

428. INADI has co-operated actively with the Under-Secretariat for Human
Rights in encouraging antidiscriminatory practices not just
in society but more
particularly among civil servants. Both institutions as a result hold regular
courses on ways of respecting
human rights and combating discrimination. The
Under-Secretariat has been holding them for years both in the Federal Capital
and
in the provinces.

XXXV. JUDICIAL RESOLUTIONS TO ENSURE EFFECTIVE
REMEDIES

429. Various judicial resolutions have been adopted confirming the
effectiveness of the principles of non-discrimination and the application
of the
remedy of amparo in accordance with the new provisions of the 1994
Constitution. The following rulings issued in recent years may be cited:

a) Case of persons of the same sex cohabiting. Claim for the denial of a
welfare pension on the death of one of the persons. Decided
by the
11th Tribunal for Civil and Commercial Affairs and Mines in the City
of Mendoza in October 1998. The claim was admitted, "since any distinction
based on the fact that the persons cohabiting were of the same sex would be
tantamount to discrimination prohibited by law".

b) Case of Perkins. Judge Ballesteros of the Second National Tribunal
for Federal Criminal and Correctional Affairs, secretariat no. 3, case
no. 18,753,
in deciding the matter on 23 November 1998 expressed some ideas
regarding the concept of discrimination, mentioning two thought processes
that
precede any act of discrimination: stereotyping and prejudice.

c) Case of Ricardo Iorio (violation of Act No. 23,592). Decided
by the First National Tribunal for Federal Criminal and Correctional Affairs in
March 2000. The allegation was that a grossly
anti-Semitic expression had been
used by a rock singer in an interview with the press. The existence of any
injury was rejected,
but the right of INADI to appear as plaintiff was
admitted.

d) Case of Cayetano Bagialemani v. Government of the City of Buenos
Aires. Decided by the Civil Tribunal of First Instance of the Federal
Capital in July 2000. The person bringing the suit, an ex-serviceman
from the
War of the Malvinas, claimed that he should be given preference in recruitment
to the city of Buenos Aires civil service,
since the government had publicly
committed itself to that.. The ruling admitted the demand, stating that
otherwise the government
would be involving itself in "subtly discriminatory
conduct", by taking advantage of a specific minority, such as that of
ex-servicemen,
to present it as a beneficiary of rights, which it was in fact
not allowed to exercise.

e) Case of Lullo v. Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires
(amparo). The petitioner requests that the administrative provisions
invoked to refuse him a renewal of his professional driver’s licence
because he has a criminal record be declared null and void. INADI, assisting
Mr. Lullo, petitions for the repeal of all legislation
that tends to stigmatize
those who have served a sentence, thereby impairing such constitutional
guarantees as non bis in idem. The evidence is at present being
heard.

ARTICLE 7

XXXVI. INFORMATION – THE MEDIA

430. Here the detailed activities described under each section of
article 5 should be borne in mind. The National Department for
Promotion functions as part of the Human Rights Secretariat in the Ministry of
Justice, Security and
Human Rights, with specific tasks in the area of
information. Its objectives are the following:

a) Helping to include education in human rights and democracy at all levels
of the formal education system as the foundation of good
citizenship,
guaranteeing human rights and preventing violations;

c) Training civil servants (agents of the national and provincial civil
service) in the theoretical and practical aspects of human
rights, since it is
they who have functional responsibility for the implementation of public
policy;

d) Training police officers and security forces to perform their tasks in
respect for the rules and principles established by current
legislation and in
accordance with the recommendations made by the United Nations;

e) Promoting the Documentation Centre specializing in human rights which this
Department manages;

f) Encouraging publications that help to make human rights known and permit
the study of the theory of human rights and their teaching.

431. These activities do not interfere with any that may be organized and
carried out by the different human rights departments in
the provinces. One
should also point out that various national universities have included the
subject of human rights on the syllabus
of some of their faculties. This is
also true of curricula in the secondary schools run by the government of the
city of Buenos
Aires.

432. Spreading information on human rights is also a fundamental task of the
non-governmental community working in this field. A
considerable number of NGOs
have been set up in the country to perform different tasks. Many of them are
purely local, while others
are national branches of international bodies.
Several Argentine NGOs have consultative status with the United Nations Economic
and Social Council.

INADI measures to promote non-discrimination

433. Here the reader is referred to the information given under
article 2.

Measures to promote the rights of women

434. Among the principal activities carried out by CNM in 2000 and 2001 the
following may be mentioned:

a) International seminars

– The organization in conjunction with UNICEF, UNIFEM and the National
Council for Children, Adolescents and the Family of the
seminar entitled
"Women’s rights and children’s rights: building full citizenship"
(2000) to help in the preparation
of an agenda for adjusting legislation and
formulating public policy for women and children with a human rights and gender
approach;

– The organization of the ECLAC/CNM/CIEPP seminar "The permanent
incorporation of gender in public policy" (Buenos Aires, 2001).

b) Training and technical assistance for staff of CNM and the Federal
Plan

– Workshops for co-ordination and exchange of experience;

– Information sessions on the Domestic Violence Register and the work
on reproductive health;

– Workshop on training in the recognition and management of cases of
domestic violence (2001).

c) Awareness-raising and training for personnel

– Participation in the launching in Jujuy in 2000 of the network of
female legislators in the northeast and northwest regions.

d) Training workshops

– For the prevention of violence against women, with an evaluation of
the Domestic Violence Register in various provinces.

e) Awareness-raising sessions for the media

– Working breakfast with journalists;

– Support for the campaign for a women’s quota in the
Legislature;

– Publicity campaign and promotion for the "International Day to Combat
Violence against Women";

– A ceremony to commemorate the struggles, victories and achievements
of women throughout Argentina’s history;

– Publicity activities at the Book Fair;

– Presentation of the book Mujer y justicia (Women and justice),
Buenos Aires, 10 May 2001;

– Co-ordination of the publicity campaign on workers’ and
employers’ rights and duties contained in the special
social security
regime for domestic service workers (2001).

f) Training and technical assistance for civil-society
organizations

– Signing of the agreement with the Argentine Federation of Bar
Associations (FACA) to offer training to lawyers who deal with
domestic
violence. This includes providing free legal assistance to women victims of
violence who cannot afford a lawyer (2001)

– Training and technical assistance for civil-society organizations:
i) Joint organization with NGOs of a meeting of the Women’s
Forum against
Corruption in September 2000; ii) Co-ordination with research and academic
centres, experts and specialists with a
view to establishing co-operation and
exchange; iii) Signing of co-operation agreements with the National University
of the Littoral
and the National University of Southern Patagonia; iv)
Agreement with CELAM, an NGO working to prevent genital and breast cancer;
v)
Joint organization with the Argentine Federation of Municipalities of the
workshop "Exchange of experience on gender equity and
local governments", as
part of the second Regional Meeting on Affirmative Action to Promote
Women’s Participation in Local
Government; vi) Invitation to NGOs to
establish a civil-society forum to agree on and adopt joint action to protect
women’s
rights and equality of opportunity and treatment (2001).

g) Training for other States on request

– Horizontal co-operation with the FO-AR programme of the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship on technical
assistance and
training for the Government of Nicaragua. The technical assistance involves
pro-active measures in favour of women
in the Government of Nicaragua’s
civil service, Managua;

– Technical assistance for Ecuador’s development programme for
indigenous and black people.

Report on Ministry of Education measures to combat prejudice and promote
understanding, tolerance and friendship among various groups
victims of
discrimination

435. As part of the Professional Empowerment Project for Provincial Trainers,
a two-year course was given to 106 trainers in ethics
and citizenship training
throughout the country. Those trainers then offered training in the schools of
their provinces through
the three cycles of basic general education.

436. In that course, teaching topics and strategies were considered in
relation to the need to tackle the racial discrimination present
in educational
establishments. These are topics that are contained in the basic common
curricula. The latter are the result of
consultations with experts and
representatives of the different communities in our country and their contents
include concepts, attitudes
and procedures concerned with respect for human
rights and non-discrimination. For example, one of the things a graduate of
basic
general education is expected to be able to do in the area of ethics and
citizenship is "to recognise forms of discrimination and reject them on the
basis of a defence of human rights".

437. The course was given by representatives of INADI, organizations that
defend human rights, such as the Legal and Social Studies
Centre, and the
Holocaust Memorial Foundation. The provincial trainers received bibliographies
and teaching materials to enable
them to work on the subjects with trained
teachers. Examples of the materials they were given are the text entitled "Six
million
times one" by Eliahu Toker and Ana Weinstein, published by the Ministry
of the Interior, and the book "Education for citizenship
and human rights"
prepared by the Inter-American Institute for Human Rights and the Legal and
Social Studies Centre and published
by the Ministry of Education.

438. The Ministry of Education also published and distributed a series of
booklets entitled "Proposals for the classroom". These
booklets contain
proposals to enable teachers of the three cycles of basic general education and
polymodal education to deal with
matters germane to the different parts of the
curriculum. On the subject of ethics and citizenship training, proposals were
made
that included the problem of racial discrimination and the need to tackle
it in school. For basic general and polymodal education,
the booklets suggest
ways of treating matters such as tolerance, recognition of others, cultural
diversity and the rights of the
child and the adolescent.

439. The Ministry also co-ordinated the preparation of a series of materials
on "Social problems and the school". Among them is a
text dealing with the
problem of discrimination, addressed to the authorities and teaching staff of
middle schools throughout the
country. It speaks of the different types of
discrimination that arise in society and in educational establishments, analyses
their
possible origins and the mechanisms associated with discrimination and
proposes strategies to enable teachers to tackle the problem
with their
pupils.

440. In 2000, the Federal Council for Culture and Education determined that
19 April should be included in the school calendar as
the Day of Living Together
in Cultural Diversity. That date was chosen because it was 19 April 1943 which
saw the beginning of the
historic Warsaw ghetto uprising in the name of human
dignity. With the aim of publicizing this decision and showing how to deal
with
this subject in schools, the Ministry of Educarion organized events in 2000 and
2001 in which students from schools of the city
and province of Buenos Aires in
the third cycle of basic general education visited educational exhibitions and
took part in workshops
prepared and co-ordinated by experts from the ethics and
citizenship training and social sciences teams. The Ministry of Education
and
the Holocaust Memorial Foundation also jointly prepared a supplement published
in the daily paper Clarín on 17 April 2000, which explained the
spirit of the Day, gave information about it and made proposals for activities
teachers could
do with their pupils. The Ministry also sent information to
mass-circulation children’s magazines.

"Learning to Live Together" programme

441. The Ministry of Education took part in the UNESCO International
Conference "Education for All for Learning to Live Together"
held in Geneva in
September 2001. Drawing on the conclusions of that conference, the Ministry of
Education, with the participation
of UNICEF, the UNESCO International Institute
for Educational Planning and the Organization of Ibero-American States for
Education,
Science and Culture began the implementation of the programme
"Learning to live together"with the aim of taking advantage of the
efforts being
made by activists in the educational community in pursuit of just and peaceful
co-existence and adding to their force.

Act publicizing the rights of indigenous peoples

442. On 12 June 2002, the Congress adopted Act No. 25,607 providing for
the launching of a campaign to publicize the rights of indigenous
peoples, as
contained in paragraph 17 of article 75 of the national
Constitution.

443. The Act stipulates that the planning, co-ordination, execution and
evaluation of the publicity campaign should be the task of
the relevant
authority, namely the Human Rights Secretariat of the Ministry of Justice and
Human Rights, with the co-operation of
INAI and the active and direct
participation of the communities of the indigenous peoples involved, who would
be invited in the person
of their respective organizations.

444. INAI is to provide the Human Rights Secretariat with a translation, both
oral and written, of the substance of paragraph 17 of
article 75 of
the Constitution into the different languages of the peoples that inhabit
Argentina today. Special care must be taken that these translations and
the
publicity do not distort the meaning of the constitutional article, because we
are dealing here with a variety of languages,
cultures and traditions.

445. It is planned that the publicity campaign will use national radio and
television channels and graphic materials and will be brought
into educational
establishments. At the same time, the assistance of intermediate groups, such
as rural communities, non-profit
civil associations and neighbourhood
associations throughout the country will be solicited and they will be given
whatever they need
to carry out this task.

446. What is more, those provinces that subscribe to the regulations of the
above-mentioned Act will be able to choose other means
of diffusion in addition
to those proposed and carry out a more intensive campaign in regions with a high
proportion of indigenous
people.

447. The Act establishes that the Human Rights Secretariat, in co-ordination
with INAI and the indigenous communities involved, shall
plan and hold training
courses for indigenous communities to inform them of their rights and duties
with regard to ways and means
of transmitting information in accordance with
their traditions and cultures.

448. The publicity campaign is to be held every two years, unless, once the
revelant authority has assessed the results, it feels
a shorter lapse of time
would be more appropriate.

Annex I

INFORMATION ON THE OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR
WOMEN’S ISSUES AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

This body has as its primary responsibility to assist and advise the
competent authorities on issues relating to the status and situation
of women at
the international level and in the foreign policy of the Republic.

Among its activities are the following:

1. Implementing and directing action concerning the status and situation of
women in connection with foreign policy objectives, as
well as action relating
to gender problems and equality of opportunity.

2. Preparing instruction projects and operational plans and programmes for
international events on the status and situation of women
in which the Republic
is involved, as well as events taking place in international organizations of
which the Republic is a member.

3. Taking part with the competent departments in the study of domestic human
rights legislation to bring it into line with the rules
of international law on
the status and situation of women.

4. Preparing and proposing outlines of international policy to be developed
in harmony with the country’s foreign policy regarding
the treatment of
gender problems and equality of opportunity and the position to be adopted in
the different instances where such
is required.

5. Representing the national Government at events and meetings of
international bodies or foreign governments dealing with women’s
issues.

6. Co-ordinating the participation of national representatives in
international and intergovernmental bodies and the activities taking
place
abroad concerning the situation and the rights of women and gender problems.

7. Participating in activities taking place in the country pursuant to
international commitments, in co-ordination with the competent
bodies, by virtue
of the mandate of the Ad Hoc Follow-up Committee on the Platform for Action of
the Fourth World Conference on Women
(Beijing, 1995), which was set up in this
Ministry by Decree No. 1013/95.

8. Establishing effective relations and maintaining permanent links with
national governmental bodies in order to be able to co-ordinate
with them the
activities and information needed to establish frameworks for action in the
international arena.

9. Participating in events and/or activities concerning women organized by
the competent national and/or provincial bodies, in which
foreign official
representatives are present.

10. Fostering and providing guidelines for the development of relations and
links with NGOs and academic institutes concerned with
women.

11. Co-ordinating with the NGOs accredited in the country and with the
relevant university departments machinery for the exchange
of information and
joint participation in projects being devised to fulfil commitments assumed by
the country.

12. Maintaining a flow of ideas to and from NGOs and other autonomous bodies
with the aim of creating a permanent dialogue and a forum
for discussion of
women’s issues.

13. Supervising the co-ordination of activities and projects in conjunction
with the international agencies, NGOs and State bodies
involved.

Against the background of these responsibilities the following activities
deserve mention.

MERCOSUR Specialized Women’s Conference (REM)

The Specialized Women’s Conference was set up by MERCOSUR Group
Resolution No. 20/98 as a forum for the study of the situation
of women in
terms of the current legislation in the States parties of MERCOSUR, where
equality of opportunity is concerned.

The principal objective of the Specialized Conference is to contribute to
the social, economic and cultural development of the communities
of the
countries members of MERCOSUR

Members

In accordance with article 2 of the resolution that created it, the
members of the Specialized Conference are government representatives
of the four
States parties and the respective national sections are co-ordinated by the
national organs each State party designates.
(The organ designated by
Argentina is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and
Worship.)

In the pursuit of its activities, the Conference can seek advice from the
MERCOSUR Women’s Forum, as well as other regional
non-profit associations
that are legally represented in the States parties and deal with women’s
issues in the areas related
to MERCOSUR’s objectives and principles.

By Ministry of Foreign Affairs Resolution No. 4040/98, the
Under-Secretariat for Women of that Ministry was chosen as National Co-ordinator
for Argentina with the power to convene the representatives who are to form the
national section. In article 2 of that resolution
the National
Women’s Council of the Office of the President was invited to appoint two
representatives as members of the national
section.

Ad Hoc Follow-up Committee on the Platform for Action of

the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, 1995

Background

In view of the commitments made at the Beijing Conference, the national
Government decided it was necessary to co-ordinate women’s
affairs in
their national and international dimensions. So, the Executive set up within
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International
Trade and Worship an ad hoc
committee to monitor implementation of the Plan for Action resulting from the
Fourth World Conference
on Women.

The Ad Hoc Committee is made up of a representative from each ministry and
State secretariat, from the President’s Office and
from each of the other
State Powers, from each provincial government and from the Women’s Office
of the Government of the City
of Buenos Aires. Representatives of NGOs, trade
unions and university circles have also been included on the Committee.
Information
meetings have been held with NGOs as a way of maintaining and
fostering links with this important form of citizen participation in
the
treatment of women’s problems and in order to co-ordinate their work
within the framework of co-operation and co-ordination
of tasks between the
Government and the private sector.

To optimize the operation and organization of the Committee, the country was
divided into seven regions, with one representative
for each:

– Argentine North-west – representative from Tucumán
province

– Argentine North-east – representative from Corrientes
province

– Centre – representative from Córdoba province

– Patagonian region – representative from La Pampa province

– Cuyo – representative from Mendoza province

– Buenos Aires – representative from Buenos Aires province

– City of Buenos Aires

Once the Committee had been established in March 1996, a first plenary
meeting was held, which produced a plan of action and the
decision to hold
regional meetings between the months of July and October that year.

The Beijing Platform for Action sets 12 strategic objectives and measures to
be implemented during the decade 1995-2005. Work was
done on them up to the end
of 1999. Among the 12 strategic objectives, that concerning "Women and poverty"
was considered a priority
for Argentina and so the first stage of the
Committee’s work was devoted to achieving that objective.

"Violence against women" was the subject of many meetings, suggestions for
legal frameworks and a sharing of experience regarding
best practices in each
part of the country, so as to be able to discard those that had not proved their
efficacity and publicize
those that had.

Another of the strategic objectives considered was that regarding "Women and
the economy", featuring in particular women managers
of micro-enterprises and
SMEs. This was thoroughly examined, difficulties were tackled and a trend
emerged towards the creation
of women’s networks with organizational
principles, to facilitate production and marketing.

The subjects of education and training for women and health and Empowerment
were also fully considered.

Action undertaken in 2002

The Committee entered a new phase of operation and further actions and
initiatives agreed on at the Twenty-Third Special Session
of the United Nations
General Assembly (the conclusions known as "Beijing plus 5") were added.

The Women’s Directorate in the Foreign Office prepared a questionnaire
in order to include the initiatives coming out of the
regional meetings held on
two crucial subjects of the Platform for Action which coincided with the
thematic issues planned for consideration
at the forty-seventh session of the
Commission on the Status of Women, held in New York in March 2003: enhancement
of institutional
capacity for the implementation of the Beijing Platform for
Action and Beijing plus 5, and women’s rights and the elimination
of all
forms of violence against women, including trafficking in women and girls.

Tripartite Commission on Equality of Opportunities and
Treatment between

Men and Women in the Workplace

At the urging of the ILO, the Tripartite Commission on Equality of
Opportunities and Treatment between Men and Women in the Workplace
was formally
established in October 1998.

The Commission is convened and co-ordinated by the Ministry of Labour and
Social Security and is made up of representatives from
the business sector,
delegated by the Sub-Committee on Women and Work of the Industrial Union of
Argentina and the Argentine Chamber
of Commerce; from the trade-union sector,
delegated by the Women’s Institute of the CGT and UPCN; and from the
government
sector, whose leaders are the Ministry of Labour and Social Security,
CNM and the Office of the Special Representative for Women’s
Issues at the
International Level in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and
Worship.

Its task is to develop strategies for increasing equality of treament and
opportunity for men and women in the labour market, with
regard to employment
integration and vocational and technical training; to foster consensus among
the sectors; to win agreement
for measures to promote equal conditions of
access to employment, treatment and training; to provide technical advice and
to make
diagnostic studies of the situation of working women.

Action on trafficking in persons, especially women andgirls

a) First Interdisciplinary Symposium on Trafficking in Women

The symposium took place in the Palacio San Martín on 20 March 2003
and was attended by international experts from the Inter-American
Commission of
Women and IOM, as well as representatives of NGOs and the Church and executives
from the national Government; The
aim of the symposium was to encourage joint
efforts to tackle an international crime whose significant growth has caught the
attention
of the international community.

b) Trafficking in persons in MERCOSUR

The problem of the traffic in persons, especially women and children, was
raised by Argentina at the Ninth MERCOSUR Specialized Women’s
Conference
that took place in Asunción on 22 and 23 May 2003. On the basis of the
proposal made by our country, a paragraph
(para. 9) was included in
the Joint Communiqué of the Presidents of MERCOSUR, Bolivia and Chile,
dated 18 June 2003, establishing
the commitment of the Governments to including
the issue on their agenda and to working in co-ordination and jointly on the
matter.

c) Follow-up action

To give continuity to the work already done, an initiative is now being
implemented to bring together the different sectors of the
national government
in concrete actions to tackle the problem of the traffic in persons, especially
women, adolescents and children,
from an integral, interdisciplinary, networking
perspective. The competent national bodies are to prepare a list of activities
to
be undertaken in their different fields, from the moment a complaint is first
lodged or a case becomes known up until measures of
legal, medical and
psychological assistance can be taken and opportunities found to return the
victims to their communities in conditions
of safety.

National campaign to commemorate the International Day

to Combat Violence against Women

• To commemorate the International Day to Combat Violence against
Women, the Office of the Special Representative for Women’s
Issues at the
International Level of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and
Worship, together with CNM and the
national Human Rights Secretariat launched a
campaign to raise awareness about the problems of violence against women.

Objectives

• To inform the entire population about the eventsthat led to
the commemoration of this Day;

• To raise awareness of the magnitude of the problems of violence
against women in our country;

• To give information about government programmes to deal with these
problems.

Action

• A booklet was prepared and distributed (through the Argentine
National Bank) containing the history of how this Day came to
be instituted and
information about international conventions and national legislation and
programmes;

• With the collaboration of State-owned media (Canal 7 and Radio
Nacional), a programme about the Day was broadcast in which
women from the
different sectors of society discussed the present situation of women in our
country. During the week of 25 November
there were televised "spots" in which
male celebrities of Argentine culture gave their thoughts on the subject. Radio
Nacional devoted
a programme to ideas about the problem, which included a
telephone conversation with Sra. Adela Mirabal, the sister of La Mariposa.

• With the assistance of the National Institute of Cinema and
Audiovisual Arts, films and documentaries considering the problems
of violence
against women from different perspectives were shown in various cities of
Argentina.